Bad Days
by Backinwonderland
Summary: Dougie Poynter always found it easier to complain about the bad things in life instead of searching for the good. On a particularly bad day, he recieves a letter from a girl who would change his entire outlook on "Bad Days" forever.
1. Chapter 1

Dougie Poynter groggily awoke to the sound of his answering machine beginning to click as his phone rang, ready to take a message. He cleared the food and magazines away from him as he tiredly stood up from his couch where he'd crashed late last night once he arrived home. He looked over the messy coffee table, through bills, tissues, cups, and magazines for his house phone.

_"Mr. Poynter, this is your credit card company calling to inform you that your payment has past the final date. Your card has reached its maximum spending limit until your bill is paid. Thank you and have a nice day." _

Dougie finally found the phone as the woman's voice cut off. Angrily, he chucked it across the room at the wall.

"No, I hope _you _have a nice fucking day." He swore as he made his way through the mess that was his house. He needed a painkiller for the monster of a headache that was starting to form inside his skull. It wasn't until he had the pill and a nice glass of water that he noticed the clock on his wall.

1:35

"Fuck!" He yelled, realizing that he was already thirty-five minutes late for work. Hadn't he set his alarm clock?

He glanced over at the piece of junk to see it lying on the floor, off. He angrily spat at the electronic as he pulled a hoodie on over his head and ran out the door. He'd have to speed to work in order to get there in a decent amount of time…

Dougie pulled the door of his car open hopping in quickly until he realized the nice bright pink piece of paper folded under his windshield wiper.

"No fucking way." He said as he stared at the paper, shocked. He hopped back out of the car and pulled the paper out.

_**Charge**__: Illegally parked Vehicle._

_**Fine**__: Tire Boot_

Dougie stared, confused by the ticket. What on earth was a tire boot?

And then he saw it. The bright yellow lock covering the front right tire. His car wasn't going anywhere anytime soon thanks to the wonderful _tire boot_.

"Could this day get any better?" He asked himself, completely stunned. How was he supposed to get to work _now_?

He suddenly saw the local city bus pulling by, stopping to pick up a man across the street. Dougie took a deep breath and ran over, pulling his wallet out along the way.

He paid the toll quickly, moving to the back of the bus. When was the last time he actually _took _the bus anyway? Way before he got his car. Probably even before that, because he had lived with one of his band mates who had _his _own car.

Dougie pulled his mobile out of his pocket, meaning to text in an excuse for his tardiness. What would he say? 'Sorry, I have a serious hangover, my alarm clock fell and broke, my credit card just maxed out and I have a ticket fine the size of Jupiter.'

That would totally make everyone happy.

Dougie just slid his phone back into his pocket after checking the three missed calls from his best friend and band mate, Danny Jones, probably calling to see where he was. Dougie decided it was best to just wait till he got to the studio to tell them how his morning went.

Twenty-five bumpy minutes later, the bus finally pulled close enough to Dougie's building for him to hop off. Once his feet hit the pavement, he broke out into a sprint towards the studio. He was going to be in so much trouble, it wasn't even funny. Not even with his manager but with his band mates. They were totally depending on him to show up, _on fucking time_.

He ran into the building, past the wary looking receptionist, down the hall where he knew his band mates were waiting for him. The red light was lit above the door that had MCFLY written across the white board hanging on it. Were they recording? Weren't they supposed to wait for him?

He knocked on the door, hoping someone would hear and let him in. It took a moment, but eventually the red light turned off and the sound of the door unlocking met his ears.

"Doug's here!" A voice called before the door even swung open. He ripped the door back to see one of his band mates, Tom Fletcher, on the other side.

"I am _so _sorry I'm late! You would _never _have believed the morning I just had." Dougie sighed loudly as he made his way into the room where the rest of his band, his manager, and their producer were sitting. "My answering machine woke me up this morning because my alarm clock broke last night saying that my credit card's maxed out _and_ I got a parking ticket complete with a wonderful tire boot. I took the bus here until I can figure out how to get it off." Dougie gave his excuses quickly, hoping that they would buy him some time

"Dude, that sucks _so _bad!" Danny, the most un-serious of all the band members, laughed as Dougie finished his story.

"I told you to keep up with your bill, mate. See what you get?" Harry, their drummer, said from his spot on the couch, though he smiled sympathetically at Dougie.

"Yeah, but if he _had _paid his bill he would've never woke up this morning. He would've missed practice all together." Tom reasoned, always putting the band first.

"Would you believe that you're not able to pay your credit card bill with your credit card? I tried one time, but they sent it back. Bummer." Danny said, shaking his head so that his curly brown hair fell into his face as the rest of the room laughed at him, thankful for the break in the serious tension.

"Alright guys, I think that's enough for today." Fletch, their manager, said as they started to put away all their instruments. Dougie set his bass back on the stand as he wrapped the wire up and set it on top of the amp. If only he could keep his flat as organized…

"I have some fan mail for you guys. Answer them if you have a chance, yeah? Maybe just an autographed picture or something." Fletch said as he handed a wrapped bunch to each of the guys. Dougie took his decently sized bundle, weighing it nicely in his hands.

He had always appreciated fan mail. It would always make his shitty days better to go back and read how sixteen-year-old girls wished they could marry him. It sounded conceited but how could he not respond to the nice ego-boost?

"Alright guys, I'm heading home. I've got bills to pay and people to call about a _tire boot_." Dougie laughed as he exited the studio, fan mail in hand. He wasn't sure when the next bus was scheduled to come, and he hoped it wouldn't take too long. It was pretty cold outside for March.

He stood out across the street from the stop he got off at, hoping to catch a bus going in the opposite direction. Luck was finally on his side as the bus pulled up to him within fifteen minutes. Maybe Karma was starting to turn around for him.

On the bus he decided to read a letter or two, maybe help his mood get even better. The first couple he read were the basic marriage proposals or girls seeking rumor squashing. One letter was really for Danny, though that normally happened. He was considered the biggest playboy our of the four band mates. The girls he went after responded quite well to him for some strange reason…

A couple letters worried Dougie, as they were girls who had claimed to have slept with him and were looking for something _more_. Sure Dougie was sometimes a bit like Danny, but he remembered almost every girl he'd slept with. All of those letters had to be bullshit, which obviously annoyed him. Why would they go and do that? Didn't they have lives?

One letter caught his eye more then the others. The way it was typed made it seem professional, yet the words sounded teenage-like. It was so interesting he couldn't stop reading it.

_"Dear Mr. Dougie Poynter._

_How are you today? I know it's pretty cold outside. It's said to be like this for a couple weeks. We can never escape this crappy England weather, can we? _

_God, listen to me, talking about the weather. So cliché… _

_Anyway, I guess I should explain what this is really about, huh? _

_My English teacher is ancient. Seriously, he's from the time when e-mail was nothing more then just an idea. Probably not even an idea… just a dream Like hover cars... He thinks that the wonderful art of letter writing is being lost in the horrible modern world so he told us to get a pen pal. He said to choose a friend who's out of town, or a family member. I don't have ANY. _

_Seriously. I've lived in London my entire life, and so have my parents. All of my cousin's live here, and I've never gone away to camp or anything so I don't have any friends outside of these borders. Technically, you're inside the borders too, but whom else will I write to? Everyone knows me and would be like "Why would you write me a letter if you could just walk across the street and ask me?"_

_So I guess that's why I chose you. I mean, I like McFly and everything but I've never been to a concert or seen you guys live. So that counts as people I know but don't see very often. Right?_

_Guess who my second choice as my pen-pal was? The Queen. Yep. And you know what? I bet she wouldn't even write back to me. That's why I chose you instead._

_But… I mean, you don't really HAVE to write back. If you don't want to. I would totally understand. I mean, you're a busy guy right? Living the life of a celebrity with the fame and fortune and all that jazz, right? I'm just a nobody, eighteen-year-old girl who has no idea what I'm going to do with my life! Why reply?_

_Alright, I'll let you go now. I kind of get what Mr. Hill is saying about letter writing now… I have no clue how to do it. _

_Talk to you later… (Or maybe not?)_

_Sincerely, (Mr. Hill made me right that…)_

_Mariah Christine Anderson (But you can just call me Riha, if you write back.)"_

Dougie laughed out loud a few times as he reread the letter. This girl… this eighteen-year-old girl… wanted to be his pen pal? What on earth would the guys think if they ever found out?

She wouldn't be mad if he didn't reply. She mentioned it quite a few times in the letter that she was okay with it. This Riha girl could just write the Queen instead.

Dougie rolled his eyes at the thought of writing a letter for _school_. He was so thankful that because of McFly he was able to leave school early. A total dropout, yes, but it was still a great excuse. He made out extremely well, too.

Maybe he could write the girl back, just once, just so she wouldn't get in trouble with her teacher. It wasn't _her _fault that he assigned lousy homework. She should at least get credit for trying, right?

Dougie looked up just in time to see the bus pulling up near his flat. He quickly pushed the button and hopped off once the bus came to a stop. He ignored his car; trying to think of a way to remind himself to get it sorted out later, and walked into his apartment. He had bills to pay…

Once inside he threw his hoodie down and tried to find the special pieces of paper. Most were located opened and forgotten on his coffee table, sprinkled with bits of crumbs and beer. He was such a slob…

As he sat down on his couch with bills and checkbook at hand, he noticed the pile of fan mail next to him. Would it be so bad to put off the bills for his fans? They would highly appreciate it. And who would suffer if he didn't pay his debts? Only himself. So it was really his choice…

Dougie moved the bills off his lap and picked up the letters instead. Riha's was on top, patiently waiting for him to respond. He saw a yellow pad of A4 paper underneath the table with a pen. How lucky was that? Dougie picked it up, and began answering Riha's letter first.

_"Dear Riha,_

_Sorry to hear just how much your homework sucks. If I were you, I probably would've just ignored the assignment all together… that's probably why my mom let me drop out of school so young. I was bound to fail anyway._

_I liked you letter. I was reading it on the bus, so whenever I'd laugh, random people would turn around and stare at me as though I was insane. It was kind of embarrassing, but I think more entertaining then anything. I could write about it in a song now, couldn't I?_

_I'm actually pretty pleased that you chose to write to me over the Queen. It boosts my ego a bit, though Danny would probably argue that I have the biggest ego in the world. But it's nice to have the biggest something for once, isn't it? _

_Sorry about that joke. I'm not sure if it's school appropriate. Does your teacher screen these letters? If he does… well tell him that he assigns shitty homework. _

_That's like a double whammy. I just swore AND said that he's a bad teacher all in one. If he has a heart attack, tell him I take it all back and that I love him. I can't have a dead guy on my conscience. _

_I think that proves my ego just a bit more, doesn't it? _

_Anyway, if you're going to do this pen pal thing right, you're going to have to hear about my day or something, right? Today kind of sucked, but it's been getting better. You know just like… you wake up and EVERYTHING that can go wrong actually does? That was my day today. Technically, I need to be paying bills right now but I'd rather answer these letters instead. Yours is the first, if that some how makes you happy. It wasn't the first I read, just the first I actually cared about to answer._

_And now I kind of proved my jack-assness, right? _

_Sorry about that._

_SO MY DAY TODAY (Sorry, I had to get my attention back to what I was saying. I get distracted kind of easily…) started badly. My credit card is temporarily unusable, my car is probably being towed as we speak (or as I write?) and I'll probably need to buy a new phone and alarm clock. But… shit my credit card is maxed! It's just a lovely cycle, isn't it? _

_Oh well. Tomorrow will probably be better. I really should go pay my bills now; otherwise they'll hunt me down and strangle me like they do when they don't get their money. I kind of like this letter-writing thing now. I mean, I was a bit skeptical in the beginning but this isn't that bad. You can keep writing me as long as your teacher says you need to so you don't fail. That would suck!_

_Alright, peace out girl._

_-Dougie_

Dougie happily sealed up the letter in one of the previously stamped envelopes Fletch had given him, and addressed it back to Riha's school. It was actually a decent ending to a pretty shitty day. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Fillerish, but important. Don't get too bored, yeah? More interesting stuff will happen in future chapters.

************

Dougie sent Riha's letter out with all the rest of his fan mail and, thank Heavens, his bills. Harry had come over to his house the day after his chaotic morning to help him organize and clean up. They had spent the entire day going through his entire flat (apart from his bedroom. Harry had said Dougie would have to deal with that on his own,) cleaning and paying off his debts. He really did have the best of friends didn't he?

"Yo dumb ass, pass me the fucking ketchup." Dougie rolled his eyes and he handed the bottle over to Danny who was working on his fourth hotdog. They had finished up another day in the studio and had decided to congratulate themselves by a horrible barbeque at Tom's house. None of them were great cooks, so most of their food had burned, but Danny enjoyed it all the same.

"Tom! What's this big black thing that's lying in the sink?" Tom's girlfriend of three years called out to them from his kitchen window.

"Um… we're not quite sure. I think it was a burger, though it looks more like a hotdog." Tom replied, looking apologetic.

"Come taste it and then we'll know!" She yelled back, angrily.

Tom and Gio seriously were the best couple around. Though none of the guys would admit it, they all kind of worshiped the relationship that the two had. It was like the ideal boyfriend-girlfriend powers. They actually did love each other.

"Only if you taste it first!" Tom called back, laughing as he hopped up from his seat on the deck and ran inside to try the unknown food with Gio.

"If he gets sick, he still has to sing tomorrow." Danny grumbled as he bit into his fifth dog.

"Dude, if _you _get sick you'll still have to sing tomorrow too." Dougie laughed, reminding his friend that he was a lead singer as well. Danny shrugged his shoulders, untroubled by the thought.

"I wont get sick. These things are great!" He replied enthusiastically, biting into the black dog.

"They're disgusting. Dougie, that's the last time we'll _ever _let you work the grill." Harry laughed as he ate some crisps.

"Practice makes perfect, my friend. Maybe next time I won't forget that I put them in there." Dougie shrugged his shoulders, honestly unperturbed by the fact he wouldn't have to cook again. "You all volunteered me anyway."

"We'll never make that mistake again. Turns out the black thing was burned _bread_. When did you even put that on the grill?" Tom asked as he walked back outside, his face showing he didn't enjoy eating the black unknown substance.

"I didn't?" Dougie replied confused.

There was complete silence for a moment until everyone burst out laughing, not bothering to actually find out where the bread had come from.

"We're all going to be puking on stage tomorrow. The fans will hate us forever!" Tom laughed as he recovered his breath.

"Maybe they'll enjoy it. They liked it when we got our kit off." Danny argued, sipping his beer.

"I think that barfing is a bit different from stripping, Dan." Harry put in, rolling his eyes at his not-so-intelligent friend.

"Who knows? I bet that there is one fan out there that'd love us to barf on them. We've got some crazies, mate." Danny put in, as though he knew was he was talking about.

"But _that _crazy? I hope not." Tom said, looking slightly worried.

"Dude, I got twenty five marriage proposals in our last fan mail bunch. But on top of that I got _thirty _requests for locks of me hair. That's like… fifty crazy birds right there." Danny said, looking convinced.

"Dude, that's fifty-five." Harry corrected him, as though it was normal.

"See my point?" Danny had won.

"I didn't get any request for locks of my hair. Is it weird that most of my letters were from dudes?" Tom asked, flipping his blonde hair out of his eyes so that his friends could see his serious face.

"Um… well… probably not mate." Danny laughed, teasing.

"Most of my letters were from girls. I only got twenty proposals though… dude _and _one death threat!" Harry laughed, as though he was proud.

"Seriously? What'd it say? _Dear Harry from Mcfly, I do not like the way you play drums. I will steal your drum sticks and poke your eyes out!_" Tom's voice went down a few octaves as he spoke, causing everyone to laugh.

"Not quite that descriptive, no. And I think it was from a girl. I think she's just jealous though, personally." Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"What about you, Doug? Did you just get the normal stuff again?" Danny asked, looking at Dougie interestingly.

Dougie wasn't quite sure if he wanted to tell the guys about Riha's letter, or his own response to it. Sure the guys were great friends, but pen paling was not there sort of thing. Danny and Harry would make fun of him forever, and Tom would probably just laugh it off. It was probably better to just not mention it.

"Meh, I got the norm again. I did get one sex story for Danny though. Seriously, she like full out described what she wanted to do to him. I replied back saying that her letter was accidentally sent to your mum, Dan." Dougie said proudly, smiling as though proud of himself.

"No way! Did you save the letter?" Danny asked, interested. The guys burst out laughing again, rolling their eyes at Danny's idiocy.

"No, Dan. I didn't."

************

_"Hello London! How you all doing tonight?" _Dougie absentmindedly fiddled with his bass while Tom spoke to the crowd. Tom usually was the one who promoted their albums during their gigs, meanwhile Danny and Dougie made faces to one another in order to refrain from laughing at Tom's serious mode.

Harry was making crude hand gestures behind Tom as he sat at his drum kit. The crowd enjoyed their stage antics, laughing loudly as Tom tried to speak. He eventually turned around to see what was so funny, just to find Harry looking up at the sky, whistling suspiciously.

_"Guys, I don't feel so good!" _Danny's voice rang out loudly through the venue as he held his stomach in his hands and smiled, joking around.

_"Maybe it's because of the ridiculous amount of hotdogs you ate yesterday." _Tom suggested in a motherly tone.

_"I did it for the fans. Those freaky, freaky fans." _Danny replied, earning a loud cheer from the crowd.

_"And how would making yourself sick make the fans happy?"_ Tom asked, though he must've known exactly where Danny was headed.

_"I can give them my puke as a concert gift!" _Danny replied as though it was a great idea.

There was a collective grotesque noise throughout the stadium. The fans didn't really like the idea.

_"Knew they wouldn't like it. We should've bet on it. I could've made some serious money." _Dougie laughed into his own microphone, sounding upset.

_"I bet that I can find one person in here who would LOVE to have my barf." _Danny argued, sounding very confident.

_"You're on." _Dougie agreed, waiting for Danny to start selling his puke to the crowd.

_"Who wants Danny Jones Vomit?"_ Danny yelled into his microphone, looking towards the crowed expectantly. Dougie began shaking his head violently, hoping that they would comprehend his message.

_"EWWW!" _The crowd shouted back at Danny, laughing as his shock faced looked around the venue.

_"I'll give you all locks of me hair!" _He bargained, laughing.

The cheering from the crowed was obnoxious.

_"Are you kidding me? You all are traders! Danny Jones wants to PUKE on you, and you're up for it if he gives you hair? I'll cut his hair off in the night for you, if you want. But DON'T GET PUKED ON!_" Dougie spoke, bursting into fake tears.

The crowd began to make disgusted noises again, turning back to Dougie's side. He was very happy to have won.

_"Alright! We know who the clear winner is! Danny, you owe Dougie some money. Now, our next song is one of our new ones. Off the Radio: Active album. Who's got it? WOW, okay, THANKS GUYS! Anyway, here's Down Goes Another One!" _

Dougie couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the show. He really did love playing on stage with the guys; it was the most fun anyone could ask for. He got some kind of natural high whenever they were in the middle of a song and he would look out into the crowd to see all the people singing the words right back at them. It was amazing.

His thoughts suddenly turned to Riha, remembering how in the letter she had said she'd never been to one of their shows. She had lived in London her entire life but had never gone to a McFly show? They played different venues in the big city all the time. There must've been a reason she hadn't seen their shows if he was important enough to write to.

Dougie's mind began to wander off again as his thoughts bounced from fan letters, to favorite bands like Blink 182, to all the letters he had written them begging for them to reunite, and then for some reason, back to Riha.

It was a weird train of thought.

_"All right, you wonderful, wonderful people. We have one more song for you before we have to go. Yes, I know, it sucks. But we're not allowed on more then this. Take it up with the venue people! Anyway, lovely people, this is The Last Song! Enjoy!" _Danny laughed into his microphone, probably upsetting the venue owner just a bit. Way to go, Dan Man.

When the gig was finally over and the guys were loaded up in their van, ready to head back to their respective houses, Dougie suddenly remembered something.

"Daniel, you owe me money." His tired voice drawled out, though he hoped Danny could understand him.

"No I don't." Danny argued back, sounding very stubborn in his tiredness.

"Do too. I won the bet." Dougie's voice didn't' sound very convincing.

"I'll pay you both to shut up." Harry barked from his passenger seat, turning on the radio to block his friends out. Dougie sighed, content without gaining any money from his friends, and fell asleep.

"Dougie! Rise and Shine my friend! We've got T.V. today, so let's go!" Dougie jolted awake as he heard fists pounding on his bedroom door. It sounded as though Tom and Fletch were both there, banging together.

"I'm coming!" He called back, pulling himself sleepily out from under his warm duvet. What time was it?

"Guys! It's six in the morning!" He called angrily, falling back onto his bed.

"We have to be there in an hour!" Fletch said, opening Dougie's door and pulling him up into a standing position. How could Fletch be this awake in the morning? It was humanly impossible.

"I've got coffee going, mate. Take a shower and we're going!" Tom called from his living room, sounding very cozy.

"Make yourselves at home, guys!" Dougie called back angrily as he untangled himself from his blanket again and stumbled his way into his bathroom.

Once he was finished with his shower and changed into clothes that didn't smell too bad, Tom handed him a thermos of wonderfully great smelling coffee and they headed out the door.

"Where're Dan and Harry?" Dougie asked as he, Tom, and Fletch piled into the van. Tom looked a bit befuddled as he replied, rolling his eyes.

"We have to go pick them up. Dan crashed at Harry's last night and they were running a bit late. They better be ready by now." Tom's voice sounded threatening, though Dougie didn't really care. He leaned his head on the window, hoping to grab a few more minutes of sleep. He was barely aware when Danny and Harry hopped into the car, and he paid no attention while Fletch lectured them on tardiness. They had heard it all before.

"Where are we going today?" Dougie mumbled from the back, curious.

"Top of the Pop's." Tom replied, sounding slightly happy. He usually enjoyed T.V. appearances the most out of all the guys in the band. It wasn't because he was the most conceited, far from it; mostly it was because he liked knowing that their band had gone far enough to actually _be _on the television.

They drove in silence to the studio, trying to catch up on their sleep. No one could honestly say that they were excited about going on T.V., but they usually enjoyed themselves.

"We're here guys. Don't look too bored." Fletch said sarcastically as the boys tumbled their way out of the van. Silently, they walked into the T.V. studio, mumbling Hello to all of the other sleepy workers, empathizing with everyone. No one liked waking up early…

"McFly? Hair and Make-Up is this way. We'll be recording in about twenty minutes, so take the time to maybe drink some coffee or eat something. It should wake you up a bit." A cute girl said as walked up to them. She looked professional, though her small frame gave her the innocent look. Her black headset was blabbering loud enough for all the boys to hear, causing Dougie to wonder how on earth she could focus on all the noise and have a conversation at the same time. He could barely walk and talk at the same time in his current state.

"My name's Melanie and I'll be your manager/techie/everything-important this morning. If you have any questions about what's going down today, direct them to me, okay? Food table's right around the corner over there just incase you get hungry. I'll show you to Hair and Make-Up now though." She said quickly, looking busy.

The guys followed her like puppy dogs, trying not to get lost among the chaos that was the T.V. studio. People were running around, slamming away on computers, and filing random papers that Dougie found unimportant. All he cared about was the coffee thermos in his hands.

"Dougie, honey, you'll need to put that down while I do your make up. Can't spill, can we?" A nice old woman said to him as he sat in the barbershop chair. He complied by setting on the table in front of him as he readied himself for the make-up. It was his least favorite part of the job…

Ten minutes later, the kind woman was finished and he hopped out of the chair with a Thank You. He made his way out of the room, looking for the food cart that Melanie had pointed out before hand. Harry was the only other person who was finished, so Dougie assumed that was where he'd wandered off. After a minute of searching, Dougie finally found the table again.

"Yo Haz," He said, walking up to his friend who was munching on a muffin.

"What's up, Doug?" He acknowledged Dougie's appearance, still looking tired. "Can you get me some coffee? I'm dead on my feet over here." Harry laughed, nodding to the big coffee cooler on the table behind Dougie. Dougie made his friend a cup, handing it to him carefully, trying not to spill any.

"Thanks mate."

"No problem." Dougie said, suddenly waking up more. Finally, the caffeine in his body was starting to kick in.

"That Melanie chick was kind of cute." Harry commented, trying to get Dougie into the conversation.

"She looked wicked distracted. I felt bad," He replied, not really seeing a big attraction. She was cute, yeah, but busy.

"Perfect for you, mate. Once you're done and moved on, she'll forget because she's so busy." Harry laughed quietly, causing Dougie to roll his eyes.

"Sure," Dougie passed off, not really agreeing. Harry had been trying to hook Dougie up with every girl they'd see for a serious amount of time. He believed Dougie needed to at least _try _to settle down, even though that was exactly the opposite of what Dougie wanted to do.

"You going to talk to her then?" Harry asked, looking hopeful.

"Most likely not." Dougie laughed and the subject was dropped once Tom and Danny appeared at the table.

"Thought you two would be here. How's the coffee?" Tom asked Harry, noticing he had a cup.

"Pretty good. Get Doug to make yours. He's pretty decent at it." Harry said as he reached forward and patted Dougie's head like a dog.

"We're ready for you now, guys!" Melanie appeared at the corner of the hallway, looking frantic. The guys quickly walked over to where she needed them and sat on the couch across the woman interviewing them. She looked nice enough.

_"3…2…1… action," _The cameraman said, pointing towards the woman to continue.

"Hello McFly! How _are _you?" She asked, seeming interested.

"Great, and yourself?" Tom asked, politely.

"I'm great as well. I saw you guys at your gig a four nights ago. You four really know how to put on a show!" She laughed, looking happy.

The rest of the interview went in the most basic way possible. Single plugging, new album, tour dates, and then they finished.

"That went very well guys. Now you can all go home and sleep!" Melanie laughed as the boys exited the stage, laughing politely at her joke.

They were headed back into the van when Harry tapped Dougie on the shoulder, shoving a piece of paper in his hand.

"_I _didn't ask her to give it to you." He laughed as Dougie looked down at the slip.

_Melanie: (020) 889326362_

"Harry!" Dougie said, throwing the paper at his back.

"What?" He asked innocently, laughing at Dougie reaction. Dougie rolled his eyes, knowing that he would loose the battle anyway.

"I've got more fan mail!" Fletch said, throwing four bundles back to the guys. Harry, Danny, and Tom gave a collective sigh, probably predicting the carpel tunnel syndrome that they would have by the end of the night. Dougie, on the other hand, began going through his letters quickly, trying not to look too suspicious.

And then he found it. Riha wrote him again.


	3. Chapter 3

For reasons unbeknownst to even Dougie, he found that he was extremely anxious waiting to open her letter. He wanted to rip the envelope away from the paper and read her funny words about her school and friends again and again. It was like a book that he just couldn't put down – he had to know what happened! That was weird though… Dougie never read books…

"Why haven't you read your letters, Doug?" Harry asked, a seat a head of him. He already had paper flying everywhere like it was Christmas morning. Dougie looked around at his two other friends and noticed that their laps were quite similar to Harry's.

"Just waiting till I get home, I guess." Dougie replied, knowing that the answer wouldn't sit well with his friends.

"Why? Scared you'll only get hate mail this time?" Danny laughed as he peeled open another letter. "Oh look! Candy says _'she wants my babies'_!" Danny gloated, holding the paper up for Dougie to look at.

"Candy's a stripper name." Dougie laughed, glad that the subject had changed.

"Don't go dissing my fans, Dougie. They'll kill you in the middle of the night for me. I swear." Danny said threateningly, causing the others to wonder if he was serious or not.

"How come my fans always ask me about you guys?" Tom said in a very frustrated tone as he threw down another letter. "Am I not special for some reason? You know, without me, McFly wouldn't have even started!" Tom began his normal I'm Important rant that he always started whenever he was put down. Poor Tommy…

The moment the van pulled up in front of Dougie's flat, he hopped out of the car and sprinted up towards the doors.

"Call you later, Mate!" Harry yelled as the van's door closed and Dougie disappeared inside the building.

Once he safely reached his living room, he dumped all of the letters onto his couch and sorted through them to find Riha's once again. It was fairly simple – right on top.

_Dear Dougie Poynter,_

_Um… OH MY GOD. You actually responded to my letter? You ACTUALLY responded to MY letter? I honestly thought that I had more of a chance winning the lottery then THAT ever happening!_

_Mr. Hill was standing in front of our class, holding a bunch of envelopes in his hands. He said "Guys, these are the first of your pen pal letters to be answered," and then he started calling out my classmate's names and who there pen pals were. _

_Like my best friend Marcella, her pen pal is her cousin Robby who's locked up in Juvie right now. Mr. Hill was like "Marcella Collins – Juvenile Detention Center." That was quite funny. (Oh by the way, Marcella was at your show a few days ago. She said you all were epic. Like her favorite band live. Then she went on about wishing she could've gotten Danny's puke? Weird…though I wish I could've gone… Would've been awesome, huh?)_

_But when he said MY name? And then YOURS right after? Seriously, I thought that I was still asleep and that I had forgotten to wake up this morning. I was like "Mr. Hill, are you trying to be funny?" _

_He didn't see the humor. Sorry, but he doesn't know who you are._

_On the other hand, EVERY SINGLE GIRL in my class kind of looked at me like I had five thousand head. Like "wtf? Why would you write DOUGIE POYNTER?" _

_So yeah… I'm still trying to get over the fact that you answered. _

_Anyway._

_I totally get what you mean about waking up and the day just SUCKING from the moment you first blink. That's my day today, actually. Well, apart from the fact that I got your letter… but let's just not count that. _

_I woke up to my sister jumping on the bed saying that she was hungry. Usually, she'll wait long enough for me to actually wake up to make her something to eat, but for some reason this morning she decided to be a turd. So I made her oatmeal and she THREW IT ON THE WALL. Like, ligit. THE WALL. _

_Then my dad came downstairs and told me to clean it up because my sister doesn't know what she's doing. (Yes she does. She's seven. She knows exactly what she's doing.) So I cleaned it up just to find out that the water I used to get it off the wall actually took the paint off as well, so I'll have to repaint it once I get home after I do the butt-load of homework that I've already been assigned even though it's only second hour. I also have absolutely NO gas left in my shitty car so I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to pick my darling little sister up from school this afternoon without stalling in the middle of the road… (Jesus, that's a lot of complaining. Sorry.)_

_But you know what? I don't really mind all that's going on. I love my sister, even though she can be an ass sometimes, and I've been meaning to change the color of our kitchen anyway. And it's all right weather today. I'll just walk to get my sis and we'll hike it home. The homework thing, I could live without though…_

_Sorry that your day sucked, too. Isn't kind of weird how so many bad things can happen at once? I guess that's why I try to make them look better so I don't think about it too much and want to like… kill myself. (Seriously, just kidding.) Bill paying sucks, but just think about the nice new alarm clock you can buy once you're done! It'll be great! _

_Oh, by the way, Mr. Hill doesn't screen these letters. I could show it to him, if you want. Just so he knows how you feel. It's bad to keep things bottled up inside, Mr. Poynter. _

_Actually, I won't show him… he'd just go ballistic on me. Seriously, he should be talking to Marcella instead. Her pen pal is in PRISON. I'm not even sure what he did to end up there. Kill a puppy or something?_

_All right, I need to go. I'm in Calculus right now and I haven't taken a single note. I'm totally going to fail this weeks test. Whatever… when will I EVER need calculus anyway? _

_Sincerely, (Seriously, Mr. Hill says we need to finish every letter with that.)_

_Riha_

Dougie set the letter down after he reread it for a second time. The little smile on his face as he read Riha's words wouldn't go away, even after he noticed he was smiling. The funny way she made her F's and E's stood out fairly well on the paper, and her personality was clearly evident throughout the entire letter. It was just a nice, funny thing to read.

Was it bad that Dougie considered him and Riha to kind of be friends? He had never once met her, and seriously he'd only talked to her twice, but he could pick out quite a lot about her through her letters. She seemed pretty awesome…

Dougie quickly found the same yellow paper and pen he had used to answer her letter about the week before. He completely forgot about his other fan mail as he responded to her.

_Hey Riha,_

_Is it really that much of a shocker that I responded? I mean, me and the rest of the guys in McFly seriously love the mail we get. We respond to almost all of them… though I've never done anything like THIS before. So maybe it is a bit weird… oh well._

_Sorry to hear about your sucky day, though I do like your positive outlook on it. When I pictured you writing that part of the letter, I saw a hippy-like girl with a big yellow smiley face on her shoulders. Honestly, I don't mean that in an offensive way at all. It's just what my brain decided to see. I have a little sister too. She's only two years younger then me, but I know exactly what you mean by loving her and hating her at the same time. I could never lay a finger on Jazzie, but sometimes I just want her to jump out a window. _

_And Calculus? SERIOUSLY? I can tell you right now, you wont need it in the world. I don't even know what calculus is and I'm doing just fine._

_Actually… I'm not sure about other careers apart from being in a band and working at McDonald's. You might need it for banking or medicine or something smart like that… so if you want to leave high school and join a band, I can guarantee you wont need it… but otherwise I have no clue. _

_Do you take a lot of difficult classes? I never made it that far in school, so I seriously took the easiest classes out there. What are you studying right now, even though you have no clue what you want to do after school? Medicine maybe? You sound kind of smart enough for it. Or maybe something funny? I get a kick out of your letters, seriously. So a comedic career would be good for you._

_And tell your friend Marcella that I say thank you for her kind words about our show. It's nice to hear every now and then that people enjoy it. It is a bummer that you weren't able to go. I could easily get you tickets for the next one. I have like… hundreds of free ones just lying around my flat. Would that count as like extra-credit or something? Bet Mr. Hill would just LOVE that, huh? I could give him one too!_

_(Subject Change) Damn… I have these lizards that I love with all my heart, but right now I'm contemplating murder. I just remembered that I had to feed them and I went back to my Bearded Dragon (… I don't know how to describe what they are. They look like Dinosaurs I guess…) escaped from his tank. I don't even know how he does it! There's nothing for him to climb on to get out! He's just like Houdini or something. He always does it too, whenever I forget to feed them. It's like he knows or something._

_So Zukie (that's his name… don't ask) say's hi to you, Marcella, her criminal cousin, and your sister. I have to go now… I seriously do have a large pile of other mail that I need to respond to. _

_Oh! Tell Mr. Hill I say hi too!_

_-Dougie_

Dougie was very pleased with his respond to her letter. He wanted her to receive it over night, so he could get her reply the next day instead of having to wait another _week_. He sighed as he shoved the folded papers into the envelope, addressing it back to her school.

It was only noon and Dougie knew he didn't want to spend the rest of his day answering fan mail. He could call Harry and they could just lounge around together or something.

Dougie hopped up from his couch, grabbing his sweatshirt and his reply to Riha's letter, and made his way out of his house. He eyed his car warily, wondering if he should drive or just walk. He had gotten the irritating tire boot off of his car, nearly having to wait all day for the man to show up just to unlock it and leave, but he found that he wasn't really in the mood for driving. There was a post box halfway between his and Harry's houses, where he could drop of Riha's letter. It seemed very appeasing, especially because Riha had mentioned walking. Dougie imagined her walking down the street, holding her sisters hand as she jumped in the left over rain puddles. He found that he was smiling at the images imprinted in his mind…

Oddly enough, it was actually quite a nice day for England in the middle of March. Dougie was used to freezing rain or chilling winds, but as he looked up into the blue sky, he found that he was slightly warm in his sweatshirt. There were even a few birds flying around, excited for the warm Spring approaching.

"Spring is on its way," He said to himself as he continued to meander down the walk. To a random pedestrian he might've appeared slightly insane, but what Dougie was doing felt natural and comforting. He didn't feel any worries at all.

After he deposited Riha's letter in the box, he pulled his mobile out from his pocket to let Harry know he was coming over. He sent a quick text, knowing that a phone call would just be a waste. He didn't really need to ask permission.

In a few minutes, he arrived on Harry's stoop, opening the door without knocking. Again, it was a very natural thing for him and his band mates. They had open doors for one another, welcoming at all times.

Harry's house was definitely the most posh looking out of the four boys'. It showed Harry's expensive taste and classical interest in what was elegant. The guys would make fun of Harry endlessly for it, but Dougie always respected him enough because he was slightly proud to see that Harry knew exactly what he liked. Dougie's taste was minimal – whatever wasn't breakable, but cheap at the exact same time. Harry always held his ground, stating that he just liked nice things.

"Yo Dougie, what's up?" Harry asked from his living room. He was lounging on his couch with a bowl of crisps and fan letters around him. "I feel like I got a lot more then last week. I've been reading them forever, mate." Harry laughed, motioning towards the letters.

"I got so caught up with mine, I only replied to one." Dougie confessed, hoping Harry wouldn't ask for details on the certain letter.

"It happens to all of us, man. Hey, we should go get some pizza or something! We just need brain food." Harry said, hopping off his couch excitedly. Dougie didn't realize just how hungry he was until he mentioned it.

"Yeah, man. Pizza sounds awesome." Dougie agreed as they made their way back outside to Harry's car.

"You didn't drive?" Harry asked, teasing Dougie as they got into Harry's car. Dougie rolled his eyes, though for the others it was a bit strange to see Dougie acting non-lazy. He would drive to his mailbox if he could.

"Nah, felt like walking." Dougie replied, as Harry laughed.

Dougie wasn't sure which Pizza Parlor Harry had decided to go to. The route that he was driving seemed unfamiliar to Dougie, though he knew the area slightly well. They had already driven out of their neighborhood – a good fifteen minutes out – and were in the slightly poorer part of town. It wasn't until they saw a school until something in Dougie clicked.

"Hey, do you know the name of that school?" He asked Harry, curiously. Would it be at all possible that it was Riha's school? She did live in London after all.

"Erm, no. I think it's Secondary, though. No playground or anything…" Harry replied, confused. He would have no clue why Dougie was suddenly interested in schools. It wasn't a secret that Dougie had absolutely despised school when he had been forced to attend.

"Which street is this?" Dougie asked, as he wondered if it would be the same street he wrote on Riha's letter.

"South Main… I think. Why? What's with you, Doug? Do you want to go back to school or something?" Harry teased; knowing fully well that returning to school was the last thing on Dougie's mind.

"Haha, very funny Haz." Dougie rolled his eyes, as he tried to hide the weird feeling inside of him from showing on his face. South Main was exactly the street on the letter, so it was definitely Riha's school. What was the weird feeling in him? Excitement? Nerves? Maybe he was just surprised that it was real. He actually had a pen pal… weird.

"So why'd you need to know then?" Harry repeated after Dougie didn't answer. Dougie's lying ability wasn't very good, especially around his friends. He had to make up a story fast, though, so as not to let his secret slip.

"Um, I think Jazzie has a friend who goes here. A boyfriend or something…" Dougie hopped the word _boyfriend _would be enough for Harry. Older brothers usually picked up on that kind of thing.

"No way, really? How come he's so far away? Expelled or something? Jazzie always falls for the bad guys, doesn't she?" Harry seemed to buy his story fairly well, though now Dougie had new problems to deal with concerning his sister.

"Jazzie's never dated before this?" Dougie asked, confused.

"Dude, she never told you?" Harry seemed worried.

"Told me what?" Dougie asked, seriously shocked. What did _Harry _know that _he _didn't?

"Um… I'm not supposed to say…" Harry said, looking apologetic.

Fantastic.

For the rest of the ride Dougie worried about his sister. He railed Harry over and over to tell him, but it seemed as though he wasn't budging. Why didn't Jazzie want him to know anyway? He wouldn't have done anything… except maybe find the guy to just talk to him. Make sure he was treating his sister right… What the fuck, why didn't she tell him?

"Please, Harry? I got to know, man. This is _killing _me. And how come you know anyway? It's not like you're her brother or anything…" Dougie had to admit, he was slightly jealous. _He _was the older brother.

"Dougie, I promised her that I wouldn't mention anything. It's not like she told me because she likes me better or anything… she just didn't want you to worry." Harry said, trying to calm his friend down as they entered the Pizza Parlor.

"Oh like I can calm down after you say _that_! Seriously, I'm thinking of the worst things ever… pregnancy, AIDS, cancer… Dude, please?" Dougie asked, practically begged, his friend to tell him.

"Call her. I'm not supposed to say… now she'll probably kill me for saying what I already have, but whatever… and I'll tell you right now that she's not pregnant and she doesn't have a life threatening disease." Harry said, hoping to make Dougie feel better.

"What about a non-life threatening disease? Like an STD or something?" Dougie asked, prodding his friend.

"No." Harry laughed, rolling his eyes as they placed their order at the counter. "Dude, if I would've known you were going to be this annoying I wouldn't have offered pizza. Now pay up, I drove so you pay." Harry finished, smiling widely at his younger friend. Dougie grumbled something unintelligible while he forked his working credit card over to the cashier. Some friend…


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow guys! I love the feedback I've been getting. You're all ****made**** of awesome. So just… Thanks! Here's some more **_**lovely**_** Dougie Lee Poynter. No letter in this chapter, but I'm trying to space them out with Dougie-life in between. Though next chapter there will definitely be one.**

Dougie wiggled a finger around in his ears, trying to shake the high-pitched ringing noise away. He and the rest of McFly had finished a very loud C.D. signing, resulting in possible Carpel Tunnel and hearing loss.

"We need to start wearing ear plugs to these things, man." Danny laughed as he and Dougie climbed into their van. They had separated from Tom and Harry, singing at a record store across the town. Their manager thought that they would cover more ground that way.

"It comes with the job, Danny. Hearing loss is just a not-so positive way for our fans to show us their love. They mean it in the best way possible." Dougie laughed, though there was a sarcastic tone to his words. Did they really need to scream _that _much? It would've been more pleasant for everyone if maybe they hadn't shattered the glass with their high-pitched squeals.

"Oh I know it's part of the job." Danny's smile was quite perverted, and Dougie had to wonder where his train of thought had gone. How could he have interpreted it in a dirty way?

"What do you mean?" Dougie's humor was evident on his face as he gave up trying to figure out what Danny was thinking.

"I hear them screaming all night long in my-" Danny began, but Dougie had heard enough. It was quite simple to see where Danny was headed with his statement.

"Never mind! I really don't need to know!" Dougie burst out laughing, as he held his hands over his already muffled ears. It was like walking around with a very thick pillow wrapped around his head.

"You guys have to love it though, right? I mean, it must be flattering." Fletch glanced at the two of them through the rear-view mirror, looking skeptical as he also tried to hold back his laughter from Danny's comment.

"Oh I love it." His perverted smile reappeared on his face, smiling like a very pleased man.

"Pretend I never asked…" Fletch mumbled from his seat, rolling his eyes.

Fletch was onto something though. Who were they to complain about a sore ear or two? They had girls literally _crying _for them – every man's greatest dream! Girls were screaming their names, calling out marriage proposals through their squeals. Why on earth was he complaining?

He started to actually like the throbbing in his ears, in a way he hoped didn't appear to masochistic.

"We get any mail today, Fletch?" Dougie asked out of habit. It had been a long four days since he sent his letter to Riha, though it felt like an eternity. Dougie's unorthodox obsession with the pen palling wasn't something that he was quite ready to quit. How had this girl hooked him on letter writing? Maybe her teacher was right and letters really were better then e-mail or cell phones…

But how could that be? Letter writing could easily become a pain in the ass if you had to write one to your friend just to hang out. Writing to Riha was special – like a secret. He felt like he could write just about anything down and know that without a doubt she would read it and reply. He could tell her _anything. _

"Dougie, how many time's have I told you this week? I only go to the P.O. box on Thursdays. I've got a system going. Why do you need your mail so badly anyway? Can't you wait three days?" Fletch asked, getting impatient.

"I'm just curious. I like letters." Dougie defended, trying to sound innocent.

"Because it's the only way girls will ever talk to you." Danny laughed loudly, thinking that he had just told a funny joke. Dougie looked at him skeptically.

"Jones, don't even go there." He replied, snapping his fingers with attitude.

"No Poynter, don't _you _go there."

"Oh, that was a nice come back. Where'd you hear that? From your mum?"

"Oh it's on, munchkin!"

"I'm not that short!"

"Break it up back there before I turn this van around!" Fletch laughed, sounding very fatherly. Dougie laughed along with Danny as they both settled more comfortably into their seats. He tried occupying his thoughts with activities that would make the three days before Riha's letter pass faster. He could clean out his storage room… though that sounded like absolutely no fun. Him mum and sister were asking Dougie to visit… maybe he could pop over for a bit. That sounded good.

"I'm going to my mum's tomorrow." He announced randomly to Danny and Fletch, speaking his thoughts aloud.

"Yeah? Tell Jazzie I say hello." Danny replied nonchalantly as he flipped through a magazine that was left in the van.

Dougie eyed Danny wearily, his thoughts suspicious. The topic of Jazzie was very sensitive, especially because Harry never broke his promise to her by spilling the secret that was tearing Dougie apart. He had no clue what his friend was hiding.

"Why?" Dougie asked, looking at Danny accusingly.

"Huh?" Danny looked up, surprised. Dougie's attitude was confusing him greatly.

"Why do you want me to say hello to Jazzie for you?" Dougie clarified, still suspicious.

He knew he was acting irrational, but as his job as an older brother, he was instinctually very protective of Jazzie. If she ever got hurt or had her heartbroken… Dougie wouldn't know what to do. Men could be right assholes sometimes.

"Um… because?" Danny wasn't quite sure what response Dougie wanted to hear. He was thrown by his friend's hostility.

"Not because you banged her or anything?" Dougie clarified, measuring the guitarist reaction.

"What?" Danny seemed absolutely clueless. "Doug, what are you going on about? You're making no sense. Is this because of the fan's screaming comment? " He started to grow annoyed.

"Just checking. Never mind." Dougie replied, content with Danny's answer. He seemed very unaware of the situation, which meant he was innocent in Dougie's book. Danny had always seemed to give things away when he was guilty of something.

"Mate, you're so weird sometimes." Danny laughed before he went back to reading his magazine.

The next day Dougie felt very calm and relaxed as he pulled up to his old home. It had been ages since he last visited so he'd decided to surprise his mum and sister by taking them out to lunch and shopping. He knew exactly how to treat girls, huh?

As he walked up the familiar gravel path, through the blooming front garden towards the wooden door, Dougie spotted his mother's car parked in the garage. She must've already dropped his sister off at school. His mother worked at home as a sales woman for organic beauty products. The company she sold for were 100% natural products, and didn't test on animals. That was the main reason she started working for them anyway.

Dougie reached the door, and entered the house without knocking. Even though he absolutely loved living on his own and being in McFly, nothing ever compared to how he felt whenever he walked through his childhood door, visiting his first home. He always felt comfortable and welcome – like he never actually left.

"Guess who?" He called into his mother's office after he quietly walked up the stairs and saw her sitting at her desk. Her hands froze in the air as she moved papers across the table. There was a five second pause before her chair spun around and she flung herself at her son.

"Dougie!" She cried, happily. "I had no clue you were coming! Oh this is so great! How is everything? Everything alright?" She immediately became concerned, checking her son over. "You're not hurt are you? Oh gosh, McFly didn't break up!" She cried, growing terrified.

"God no! Mum, I just came to surprise you! Don't freak. Just… sit and breathe." Dougie laughed as he guided his mother back to her chair. She gave a shaky laugh, as she hugged her son tighter, refusing to budge from their spot in the doorway.

"Oh I'm so glad you're home! Normally you call so I guess I just assumed the worst. I'm sorry." She laughed, as she pulled back to look Dougie over. "You do seem a bit skinny, dear. Maybe some real home food would do you good." She laughed as she patted his stomach.

"Actually, I came to bring you and Jazzie out. Maybe lunch and some shopping? I miss you guys." He confessed, admitting something he would never mention around the guys willingly.

"Aw, Dougie, that's so sweet. Jazzie's at school though." She seemed sad that her daughter would have to miss out.

"Let's go spring her, then. She definitely won't mind." Dougie laughed as he pulled his mother from her office, leading her down the stairs.

"Oh, alright. Let me grab my coat and we can go." She laughed, smiling widely at her son.

Once they were in the car and driving to Jazzie's school, Dougie felt himself growing excited. He really had missed his mum and sister a lot, and he knew he needed to visit them more. But he was just so busy with McFly stuff – he barely had time for himself. They were really great though, and they understood that his band was very important. They couldn't have been any prouder.

"Maybe you should just go in…" Dougie trailed off awkwardly as he pulled up to the front of the school. He'd been into Secondary Schools before and every single time he was immediately recognized. It was the most common place for teens to be at the exact same time – of course they would recognize him.

"You've got a point. Oh goodness, I'll never get used to that, Dougie." He mother laughed as she hopped out of the car and went to check his sister out of school. Dougie rolled his eyes, knowing that his mother was just teasing him.

Moments later, Dougie watched as his mum led a very confused looking Jazzie out of her school. His mothers face seemed proud and mysterious, guaranteeing that she hadn't let anything slip to Jazzie. Dougie counted to three and jumped out of the car, watching in amusement as his sister's confused face turned into one of excitement.

"Dougie? _Dougie!_" She squealed happily, running over to him and jumping in his arms. He laughed and spun her around, happy that he had chosen to surprise them. It was actually quite fun.

"Hey Jazzie! How you doing?" He asked casually as he set her back down.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, smiling. Dougie shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing.

"Oh you know, I was in the neighborhood…" He laughed as she hit his arm.

"It's good to see you, big brother." She smiled, referring to her old nickname for him. He ruffled her hair and opened the back door of his car for her to hop in.

"Good to see you too, little sis." He replied, closing the door behind her.

As they had lunch and shopped on, Dougie caught up with his family. He told them all about the guys and how they were doing (he accidentally forgot to pass on Danny's greeting to Jazzie…) and he listened to their news about the neighbors and extended family. He loved hearing all the new gossip, though he would never admit it out loud.

"Mrs. Havers _cheated _on Mr. Havers? They always seemed so awesome…" Dougie gasped as his mother whispered eagerly about their neighbors across the street. Dougie remembered loosing a ball in their yard once when he was younger and Mr. Havers returning it kindly, unlike the normal old men. He seemed upset because for some reason him and his wife couldn't have children. Dougie never understood it when he was younger.

"Apparently not. And guess what? She left him for _Jeffery_." She stated, smirking at her information.

"The pool boy!"

"Yup." His mother laughed, rolling her eyes. "That's why I'll never remarry. Things like that happen to even us old people, Dougie." She laughed as she eyed the store ahead of them. Dougie was a bit surprised by her comment because he always forgot that his mother was a single mum. He never thought of her that way.

"I'm going to go check out that store up ahead. You two wait here." She said as she headed into a candle shop. Dougie waited outside with his sister, not sure what to say. He was still kind of thrown off by his mother's statement.

"You know, Dad called me a few days ago." Jazzie said as she picked up on the kind of thoughts going through her brother's head. They could've been twins if Dougie hadn't been two years older.

"He what?" Dougie gasped, shocked.

"He… well I don't really think he was okay. Like… mentally, you know? Drunk or something. But I was in school so I didn't answer. He left a me a message mumbling something about being sorry and… well he said your name a lot…" She said awkwardly. Her face showed her regret in mentioning anything, like she wished she hadn't.

"He called? How did he get your number?" Dougie asked, growing worried. A red flag always went up in his mind whenever communication with his father was initiated. It was a warning that usually bad things were coming.

"I don't know… I mean, you can get the operator to connect you with just about anyone, right? But… well I didn't call him back. I'm not going to either." She stated once she saw her brother's face.

"Good. Don't, please. And if he calls again, don't answer. You don't owe it to him and he should know better then to be calling any of us. He left us, remember?" Dougie said, growing slightly angry. "Does mum know?"

"God no." She answered quickly, though it looked like she wanted to say something else.

"What?" Dougie asked, hoping it wasn't more bad news.

"Well…" Jazzie looked apprehensive as she pulled at her too-low-cut-for-her-brother's-taste shirt. "What if he really is sorry?" She asked quietly, hoping not to upset Dougie. "What if he wants to come back?"

"Come back?" Dougie looked shocked. How on earth was he supposed to answer? "Jazz… When he left, it was definitely for forever. Not because he decided it to be that way, but because _we _did, remember? You and me. We made our pact." Dougie looked hopeless, worried that she was switching sides. His thoughts went back to when he was fifteen years old, the eleven year old Jazzie sitting across from him on her small pink bed and tears rolling down her eyes. Their pinky promise was slightly childish, but it held the same strength as a national law. It would never be broken.

"I remember… but things change, right?" She looked hopeful.

How could he tear away her hope? All she wanted was a father figure, someone who actually cared about her. Instead she had her drunk of a dad who slept with so many prostitutes that he probably infected half of Britain with STD's. Her father was a thief, a criminal, a drug addict, and quite frankly, an abuser.

"Yeah Jazzie, I gues _some things_ change." He hoped that she understood the infliction that his words indicated. _'Some things' _meaning _'not dad'. _

"Yeah… you know what? Let's not talk about this anymore. Tell me something new about you. We've been talking about home all day." She asked eagerly as they moved to the mall bench across the corridor from the store their mother was in. Dougie searched his mind for something interesting to tell her. Jazzie knew mostly everything about Dougie's life, either from him calling and telling or one of her obsessive friends finding out first.

"Well… I have a pen pal." He stated, not realizing what he was saying until the words were already out of his mouth.

"A… pen pal?" She asked, confused. "Is this a Record Company Money Scam thing?" She asked, perplexed.

"Um… no. Actually, you're the only one that knows… this girl, Riha, she has this bogus homework assignment to get a pen pal and for some reason she wrote to me. It's kind of fun, actually." Dougie laughed, surprised with himself. He would've never believed it if someone had told him a month ago 'you'll have a secret pen pal'. He would've laughed and then given them the finger.

"Aw that's sweet that you're helping her with her homework, then. How old is she? Ten?" Jazzie asked, looking pleased.

"Actually, I think she said she was eighteen. Seventeen maybe…" Dougie laughed a bit at how ridiculous it sounded as well as annoyed with himself that he couldn't remember her exact age.

"Eighteen? That's older then me?" Jazzie asked, shocked.

"I do believe so. She has a little sister who's seven, I think. Or nine? I'm not good with ages." Dougie sighed, frustrated. He wished he could remember. Did she even mention her sister's name? He felt as though he needed to know.

"That's… well, new." Jazzie laughed with him, shaking her head. "Who would've thought? Famous Dougie Poynter – Pen Pal." She giggled as she bit into the blueberry muffin she had doggie-bagged from the café they ate lunch at.

"Yeah well, that's me. Full of new and exciting things, eh?" Dougie said in a very monotone voice. Jazzie stopped giggled and relaxed against the back of the bench, pulling her legs up under her.

"I'm not saying it's bad. I think it's kind of cool actually. How long have you two been talking?" She asked, showing new interest in the situation.

"I'm waiting for her third letter. You need to read them some time, Jazz. They're actually kind of hilarious. Seriously, I've reread each of her others a few times already, and I still laugh." Dougie told her, sincerely. She nodded in agreement.

"That'd be cool. Have you met her in person?" Jazzie inquired, looking innocent.

"I… well no. I never really thought of it." Dougie said, though, admittedly he was lying. He had driven by her school quite a few times hoping to catch a glimpse of someone who could possibly resemble the girl he pictured as Riha in his imagination. Not the yellow smiley-faced hippy he had previously pictured, but a bohemian type girl with flowing skirts and long wavy hair. He spent a lot of his alone time picturing the different possibilities of what she could look like.

"Really? Dougie this sounds like an old fashioned online dating service." Jazzie burst out giggling, like she had been holding them in for a while.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"Well, you like hearing from this girl, right? And you have no clue what she looks like or sounds like or anything like that, but you're getting to know her personality and stuff. It just seems like e-harmony from the eighteen-hundreds." She laughed at her own joke. Dougie just rolled his eyes.

"It's not a dating service, Jazz. It's her school homework. Like, seriously, her teachers such an old hag. He needs to hang up the coat and go retire in Alps or something." Dougie said, rolling his eyes again.

"But think, if he hadn't assigned the work, you never would've known her." Jazzie pointed out wisely.

Dougie felt his heart tighten as his stomach dropped. She was completely right. If it had been any other fan letter that Riha had sent, Dougie would've just replied to it normally. He never would've gotten to know anything about her or read her funny letters.

"Uh… yeah." He replied lamely, trying to not let Jazzie's words show their effect on him. It was too embarrassing to let others know just how _much _he'd liked the letters.

"Don't worry, Doug. You're secret's safe with me." She smiled, reading his mind like the would-be twin she was.

The thought of a secret in which Jazzie knew brought on Dougie's previous dilemma involving his sister. Harry's words echoed in his head, bouncing off the walls of his skull like a bouncy ball. Would it be an all right time to mention just how worried Jazzie made him?

"Speaking of secrets…" Dougie started, hoping to not make her angry. It would be just like him to take a perfectly fine day and make it all sour with just one comment.

"Yes?" She asked, looking skeptical. It was almost as though she didn't want to hear what he was about to say. His expression must've given away his indecisiveness to speak his mind.

"Harry mentioned a bit of something the other day…" Dougie trailed off, hoping that she would pick up where he left off. He watched her carefully, gauging her reaction. Her eyes flickered with shock for a moment, though she carefully covered up her emotions with curiosity.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently. Too innocent…

"He mentioned something about you and _boyfriends_." Dougie said the word like it was a disease. How could his little sister be dating? It was too weird.

"Well…" She looked a bit awkward, blushing slightly. "I am sixteen, Dougie. Do you expect me to walk around with a blind fold so as not to notice the opposite sex?" She asked rhetorically, though Dougie flinched anyway.

"Don't say that word!"

"What? Sex?"

"Yes! Just say _gender_!" Dougie said earnestly, blushing himself.

"Dougie," Jazzie's face had gone from embarrassed to a form of amusement. She was enjoying herself. "I'm growing up. Yes, I've had a few boyfriends but they're nothing for you to worry about, all right? I can handle whatever they throw my way." She said confidently, sounding much older then a sixteen year old.

"But Jazz, you don't know how guys think! We're disgusting!" Dougie said, wishing he could lock her up in her room and never let her out. Weird in a psychotic way, but meant lovingly. "And Harry said something about you going for the _bad boys_. What does that even mean? Like tattoos, piercing, drugs, and stuff?" Dougie asked, growing anxious.

"Harry might've over exaggerated a bit. I let it slip to him one time when you brought the boys for a visit about going out to meet my boyfriend. He was acting the same way you are – over protective and irrational. I talked him out of it, though I still don't think he believed me when I said that Brian was a nice boy." She said in a very calm voice, like a mother talking to her upset child.

"So… Harry didn't want you to date either?" Dougie clarified. He was proud to know that he and Harry had been on the same side. He regretted spazzing out on him for keeping it a secret.

"God I almost had to beg on my knees for him not to go and tell you! He almost wouldn't let me leave the house!" Jazzie laughed, rolling her eyes. "But that was last year, some time. I've moved on to better guys anyway. Brian just wasn't that interesting…" She trailed off, giving way too much information.

"All right! Don't tell me anymore! I don't want to know their names or anything more. I'll just end up doing background searches and stalking them like a crazed older brother. Let's just… can we just pretend that you're still the innocent eleven year old girl that I left back home?" Dougie asked, literally begging.

"That's what I've been trying to do all along." She replied, smiling kindly at him.

"Well… okay then. Let's go pick you out a chastity belt and then go home and-" Dougie began before Jazzie cut him off.

"Enough, Doug." She said in an exasperated tone, rolling her eyes. "Mom's back. Let's go." She laughed as she stood up, pulling a sullen Dougie off the bench after her. Little sisters were too scary for their own good…


	5. Chapter 5

**WOOPS. Mess up. God I hate it when that happens… Well, in Dougie's 2****nd**** letter that he sent to Riha, he mentions how Jazzie is only two years younger then him. In my last chapter though, I made her FOUR years younger. **

**I'm not really sure how old she is in real life, but in this story she is FOUR years younger. lol if you guys notice any mistakes like that in any other chapters, please let me know. It's like a super OCD pet-peeve of mine. I like things to be correct throughout the entire story. **

**Kk, here we go! GOD THIS ONES LONG!!!!!**

**­­**

Dougie's stomach was pulling and pushing anxiously inside him. His feet, in a nice contradiction, were actually very still as they stretched across Danny's lap. He was quite proud to see that he was able to contain his feelings inside of him. In any other situation, he would fidget and shake if he was anxious or impatient. His body always gave his emotions away.

Dougie glanced at the door again; irrational anger pulsing through him as he noticed Fletch still hadn't arrived. He had done everything right, waiting patiently for Thursday to come around for Fletch to collect the mail. His manager, on the other hand, decided that the most important day of the week to Dougie was the perfect day to late.

"Doug, you want to hand me my guitar?" Tom asked as he sat on the couch across from Dougie and Danny. Dougie looked next to his seat to see the guitar stand that Tom had been motioning to. He picked up the acoustic and passed it one-handed over the coffee table towards Tom who grasped it firmly and instantly began playing.

They had all gathered together at Tom's place to practice a few of their songs. Tom had mentioned a few changes to some of their new stuff that he had been thinking about. Dougie would've normally been very interested in what Tom had to share, but the letter he was impatiently waiting for preoccupied his thoughts. Fletch just had to walk through the door…

"What time did Fletch say he'd be here?" Dougie asked, trying to hide his irritation. The longer his friends were oblivious to his real feelings, the better.

"He's about five minutes late. Why? You need to ask him something?" Danny asked, looking confused. They never kept secrets from one another. It was like an unspoken rule.

And Dougie had seriously broken it.

"Just curious. I have an obnoxious addiction to fan letters. They're my drug." Dougie laughed, hoping to give them a small bit of the truth. It didn't really feel like lying when he put it that way.

"Dude, you need to get a life." Danny joked as he ruffled the bassist's hair while reaching his other arm out to grab his own guitar. He pushed Dougie's skinny legs off his lap and allowed the guitar to take their place.

"So I was thinking that maybe we could change the tempo going into the bridge. Do you think it would sound better maybe a bit more pronounced and faster? Like ch-ch-ch-ch-CH-ch, etcetera." Tom mimicked the sound of his guitar as he played one of their work-in-progress songs, in a very determined way.

Dougie tried to focus on what Tom was saying and playing because he knew it was important, but he was still twitchy waiting for Riha's letter…

"Hey Fletch, Doug's about to jump out of his skin from waiting for you." Harry commented as their manager leisurely glided into the room. Dougie sprang up from his spot on the couch as he tried to nonchalantly walk over to Fletch. He gave everything away…

"Could you give him his letters so we can actually work on this song? It's like trying to make a kid sit through a two hour Mass with him. He must have ADD or something." Tom laughed as he rolled his eyes, reading his friend easily. Dougie huffed, angry that he really had given his emotions away the entire time. He was thankful that none of them had questioned him specifically about his behavior, though. It wouldn't have gone over well.

"Oh, your fan-mail? Um, sure. Here you go." Fletch looked flustered as he pulled four bundles out of his bag, tossing each pile to it's respective owner. He handed Dougie his last, gently placing it in his hands. Dougie nearly pulled it away from him as he took his spot back on the couch, carefully pulling the rubber band away from the envelopes.

He tried to casually flip through the letters, as though he wasn't giving them much thought. His brain though, was analyzing every return address for Riha's name and handwriting. Dougie tried to act coolly as he picked a random few out of the pile, flipping them over in his hands as though he was about to read them, and then stuffing them back into the pile. His acting skills were absolutely horrible, but he had to try to seem indifferent in front of the guys.

They weren't even paying attention to him as they were so engulfed in their own piles. Danny was reading one of his out loud, laughing because it was actually a sixty-year-old woman. Dougie paid no attention.

_Riha Anderson_

Dougie almost sighed in relief as he finally found her letter. His entire system calmed down as he held it in his hands, knowing that it was actually _there_. It was real.

He quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket, covering the top bit with his shirt. Risking opening it in front of the guys was very dangerous. He would just have to find a time to sneak away and read it to himself.

He busied himself by reading a different letter, hoping to distract himself from the burning hole in his pocket. Dougie had never wanted something as much as he wanted to read her letter. He had no clue _why _this letter was so important to him. There were many different possibilities running through his head: an escape from the world of a celebrity, the thrill of having a secret, and the fact that she actually seemed like a _cool _girl… Dougie wasn't sure if he liked any of his possibilities, or if he loved them all. It was a weird situation.

"I have to go take a poo." Dougie stated, getting up from his spot on the couch and carefully walking towards Tom's bathroom, hoping that Riha's letter wouldn't fall from his pocket. No one called after him as he walked away to ask why he was walking weird or why he suddenly needed to poo. It was his lucky day…

Dougie double-checked the lock behind him to make sure the door would remain shut. He turned on the faucet to cover up any noise the paper would make and he sat down on the toilet, ripping the envelope away from the letter paper. He sighed, relief washing through him as he began to read.

_Hey Dougie, _

_I actually know what Bearded Dragons are, oddly enough. I worked at an animal shelter for a while when I was sixteen. That's when I decided to become a vegetarian and get more involved with animal rights. Dude, animal cruelty sucks BIG TIME. While I was there I would work with the dogs and cats mostly, but we'd take in lizards and stuff too… a lot of rabbits and hamsters…a guinea pig or two, too. Sorry that I don't have a solution to your magical lizard problem though. I've never heard of a Houdini Lizard before. _

_And I've got to tell you… I'm not really __THAT smart. I mean, I take the hard classes because my teachers say I should. I don't enjoy it or anything… Though thank you for saying I could be a doctor. That was a nice self-esteem booster. It made me happy for a bit…_

_I actually probably won't aspire to too much when I leave school, though. I mean, I know this sounds mega depressing and stuff, but my life is kind of already set-in-stone. I have two jobs already which give me enough money to help take care of my sister and dad… and if I left the jobs… well what would I do? I have no clue what I want to be anyway, so I might as well take what I've got, right? _

_My sister, though… she'll grow up to be something. I don't care what I have to do to get her into Uni. I'll work three jobs, leave school, and sell our piece of shit car if I have to. She'll be something. _

_Sorry that this letter is so unlike my others. Normally I'm happy and stuff, right? Thing's have just been… weirdish lately. But… yeah, whatever. _

_Mr. Hill gave us a list of 10 questions that we're supposed to ask our pen pals. I threw the list out because, honestly, it was shit. Questions like "What was your favorite class in school?" "Were you a good student?" and other stupid school questions. Seriously, I'll just make up my own. _

_Who is your ultimate idol? (Can't be a parent.)_

_What was the last movie you saw?_

_What song is stuck in your head right now?_

_What is your middle name?_

_Did you ever believe in Santa Claus?_

_What is your favorite country to visit?_

_Where was your first bang? (From Marcella… sorry.)_

_Do you parents get along well?_

_How many pets do you have?_

_Do you plan to be in McFly for a very, very long time?_

_So yeah, those are my new questions. I figure that they're more fun then "What was the lowest grade you've ever received." Mr. Hill can just go eat prunes if he doesn't like my new questions. _

_Gah… sorry I sound so messed up… Do you mind if I vent for a moment? Like I know being serious is kind of boring, but I haven't really told anyone this… Not even Marcella. And I tell her EVERYTHING. She just can't handle serious stuff too well… _

_Like when her parents told her that they were getting a divorce, the only thing she said was "so does that mean I get two T.V.'s now?" I mean, I love her but I just can't tell her stuff like this._

_Sorry… I've been procrastinating. All right… so If you don't want to hear seriously dramatic stuff… stop reading… now._

_So… I've been dating this guy, Aaron, for about two years now. In the beginning, I thought he was really great, you know? Like a total perfect guy. Nice, sweet, generous, funny… just everything a girl would want. But, about a year after we got together… he would start… well this is awkward…_

_He would start like… pressuring me into doing it, you know? And it wasn't that I didn't want to… it was just that I didn't want it to be pressured and forced. I wanted it to kind of just happen… You know? So whenever I'd tell him "not now" he'd get kind of angry and wouldn't talk to me for a week or so. I'd always feel really guilty because I did like him and I was being kind of stupid… I just didn't want everything to be centered around sex. _

_Well… after a month of me just saying "no", I finally gave in. And honestly? It kind of sucked. I wont go into details because that's just weird. Seriously. But, yeah, I didn't enjoy it but apparently he did. And ever since then he wouldn't stop talking about it. Like… I had been worried that that would happen. So we tried it a couple more times after that and I still didn't like it. He seemed to realize that I wasn't happy about it and he… well he started to get angry. Like he thought that I didn't think he was good enough for me or something._

_So… he accused me of cheating, I didn't, and things went SO down hill it's not even funny. For the past… six months or so, Aaron has been really… physical. And I don't mean like sex or anything. Like… god this sounds really bad, but like I couldn't go to school some days because of bruises or injuries. It was horrible, and I left him because I'm not that big of a dumb ass to stick around. But… well lately he's been kind of following me around and leaving me weird messages on my phone. God, I'm not even worried for me, but for my sister. I don't want him to show up at the house and talk to her. She never liked him, and I'm worried he'd yell at her or… well I just don't want that._

_So yeah… I've just been freaking out a bit lately. Sorry about all that serious stuff… god I hate it! Damn, I can't even find something positive from this situation. I mean, normally when bad shit happens I'll get over it, but this is just ridiculous! He's just an asshole! What did I do to deserve this? Seriously? _

_Gah… sorry again. I just got a bit angry. You know what? Whatever. I don't care about him. At all. If things get even worse, I'll just call the cops and tell them everything. Then HE can deal with all the weirdos in jail like Marcella's cousin. (Turns out he's in jail because he sexually harassed his dog. EW. Seriously. Well, Aaron's a dog. He'll be pleased to have him!)_

_Gosh, so sorry again about all that. This letter's been like… three pages long. Longest yet! Oh and about the concert tickets, I'll let my sister know. She LOVES you guys so much. When I told her I was writing you, she nearly cried. It was sadly adorable… _

_Anyway, peace out, Doug. Sorry about the drama!_

_-Riha_

Dougie stared in horror at the paper in his hands. She felt bad that she had told him that? Dougie almost wanted to run to her school to make sure she was okay. God, she actually felt _bad_? What would've happened if she hadn't told him? Was this Aaron guy still talking to her? It had been about three days since she sent the letter, obviously. A lot can happen in three days…

And the fucking Aaron guy was a total prick. Did he seriously think he could get away with hurting someone like Riha that way? Dougie made a vow to himself that no one would touch her like that again. How could someone even think like that? They had to be really sick. God, it just reminded him of the Jazzie thing all over again! Hadn't he said that guys were assholes? This was exactly why he didn't want her dating!

Dougie was fuming. His anger and horror had mixed together to create a red rage that he had never experienced before. If Riha got hurt… and he was the only one who _knew_? What was she thinking? Not telling the police even! He half wanted to speed to the station and rat the fucking bastard out.

This girl… was so… Dougie didn't even have a word for it. She had so much… _love_ in her, and she had nowhere to put it all. The way she described her sister was almost as though she worshiped her. Like a mother would love her children.

And she was willing to give up her _life _for her sister. Drop out of school, pick up another job, and sell her only means of transportation… she was a saint.

Dougie wondered what had happened to her mother for her to take up the roll. She had mentioned her father a few times, but never once brought up her mum. Dougie imagined that it was something like what happened with his dad. Though, Riha didn't deserve something like that at all. How could someone who was so full of life and kindness have so many bad things happen to her? It wasn't fair. That saying 'Opposites Attract' was a perfect way to describe Riha's life. She was so great, and horrible things would happen to her. It was a disgusting cycle.

Dougie got up from his seat on the toilet and shut the water off. It had been running for a good five minutes, and he didn't want to throw off his friend's water bill. He began frantically looking around the bathroom for a piece of paper or something he could reply to her letter on. He was so lucky to have a pen in his pocket from the few fans he ran into on the street.

Toilet paper.

Dougie pulled an extra roll out of Tom's bathroom cupboard, unrolling the first few squares as he began to write.

_Riha!_

_Don't feel bad for telling me-_

"Yo, Doug? What's going on in there?" Dougie stopped writing as he heard Tom knock on the door. He'd been in the bathroom for a while, making a lot of noise as he searched for a form of paper.

"I'm pooing!" Dougie snapped back, his anger lashing out at Tom. He regretted it immediately, realizing that his emotions were controlling him. He couldn't let that happen. He would go insane.

"Jeez. Sorry I asked." Tom snapped back, sounding offended. "We just wanted your opinion on the bass part. Take your time." He finished sarcastically, leaving Dougie to his business.

Dougie felt guilty about his treatment to his friends, but Riha's problem was more important.

_-about Aaron! It's HORRIBLE that he thinks he can treat you like that. I hate guys like that. Seriously, I worry every day about my sister meeting someone like that. Gahh and the fact that you DATED one? Dude, that totally freaks me out. I want to like… track this guy down and lock him up. _

_I seriously think you need to tell someone, apart from me. I mean, there's only so much that I can actually do, no matter how much I hate it. Tell a teacher, your dad, or the police or SOMEONE. Please, for me? Dude, I'm going to be worrying about you until I know that this guy is locked up. Guys like him really are sick, Riha. Seriously, you can't just wish that they'll go away. He has a problem and it needs to be fixed with more then a stern talking-to. He needs to get some kind of consequence for his actions too. He can't just hurt you like that and get away with it! It won't teach him ANYTHING. What if he hurts someone else too? He needs to meet Marcella's cousin to teach him a lesson. Like now. _

_So please, please, PLEASE tell some one. If by your next letter I find that you HAVEN'T told anyone, I'll hunt this guy down myself. I swear. And I'm kind of weak and short so I would probably end up getting killed. This is an evil guilt trip but seriously, I'll die if I fight this guy. I already know it. So, if you don't tell someone, I'll die. _

_That sound wicked dramatic, but also very logical. Please, please. Tell. _

_Do it for your sister. You seem like you really, really love her. It would upset her so much if she ever found out just how much this guy hurt you. I know you don't plan on ever telling her, but what if something like this happened to her? What would you want her to do? Hey, I just realized that I don't even know her name…_

_God, I'm all worried about MY sister now. I mean, I just went to visit her and my mum a few days ago and her and I had a very… embarrassing talk about boys. I don't know what I'd do if she ever got hurt. I just want her to be safe, you know? She thinks I'm over reacting, but look at this Aaron guy? There are men like him all over the place, just waiting for innocent girls like you and Jazzie. It's completely sick. _

_My dad is kind of like those guys. Hey look, I'm talking about an icky dramatic subject too! Sorry if you don't like it… (now I get what you were saying when you apologized…) but my dad was a shit dad. Like, coming home drunk every night, trying to fight with my mom and stuff. I would yell at him so much just to get him to focus on me instead of my mom and sister. Dude, he HATED me. I would do anything that I could to get on his nerves… pain my nails black, dye my hair, and play music horribly loud when he had a hangover… just stuff like that. Oh god, and when I got into McFly that was like icing on the cake. He looked like he wanted to KILL me. It was probably the worst I've ever gotten from him, but the positive thing was that my mom finally called the cops and he was taken in. He left after that. He was held in jail for a long time, and he's only recently gotten out. My mom has this restraining order on him and everything, just in case, but at least he got punished for what he put us through. _

_Sorry about that. I think the only reason I thought of it was because he called Jazzie a while ago, and I was just thinking about her too. _

_All right, how about I leave that serious subject and answer your questions so you don't fail? (Although, I think changing the questions wont make Mr. Hill happy…)_

_My ultimate idol will have to be Buddha. He's kind of an awesome guy. Like… totally down with the peace and love stuff. Definitely a great guy._

_The last movie I saw… I think it was the Dark Knight. Harry just bought it and we all watched it like a thousand times. Dude, I love that one line where the Joker is hanging upside down and talking to the Batman. When he's like "and unstoppable force meets and immovable object." That's pretty much epic._

_She Moves In Her Own Way – The Kooks. Danny was singing it earlier, and now it'll be stuck in my head for a week. I do quite like it though…_

_My middle name is Lee. Though, you could probably go on Google and get that. I don't mean to sound arrogant… but yeah. Okay… moving on…_

_What do you mean? Of course Santa's real. Why wouldn't he be?_

_I LOVE Australia. I've been there a few times already, and I love it every time. Seriously, if I weren't happy with England, I would definitely live there. By far, the coolest country. _

_Um… tell Marcella that I'm still a virgin. Thanks for bringing up a very sensitive subject. I might have to go cry myself to sleep and take a handful of painkillers now. _

_Funny question… no, they don't really get along well. I suppose that they did at one point – why else would they have married? But not any more. _

_I have five pets. All of them are lizards… I'm a bit of a freak, right? I love them all though, and I seriously wish I could come back to life as I lizard. I've had dreams about it before… _

_I plan on being in McFly after I die. McFly is home for me, metaphorically speaking. I love what we do, I love the guys so much, and I love playing the bass every day. It's my dream job. _

_Speaking of the guys… I've been locked up in Tom's bathroom answering your letter. We were supposed to be working on a new song but Fletch (our manager) brought in the fan mail and I HAD to read yours, girl. _

_I've been "taking a poo" for about fifteen minutes now. Sorry that I wrote on toilet paper… I can tell you that this is a first for me. Never done wrote a letter on unused toilet tissue… It's a present. [Insert generic computerized smiley face here.]_

_All right, I need to go. I kind of snapped at Tom and now I need to apologize. If by the next time I get your letter you haven't told on Asshole, then I'll die. Thank you for telling me, it's nice to know that you can. Seriously… sounds corny and everything, but I really want to know this kind of stuff. If we're going to do this pen pal thing right, we've got to be pals. Pals tell each other stuff. _

_That was horrible. Sorry that you had to read that…I wouldn't be surprised if the disgusting corniness of that made you puke, I apologize. Go drink some soda… _

_BYE RIHA!!!!!!!_

_-Dougie_

Dougie folded up the toilet paper neatly and dropped it back into his pocket with Riha's original letter. He gave the toilet an unnecessary flush and ran the water, washing his hands although he never actually went to the bathroom. He checked his face in the mirror, trying to wipe the worried expression from his face. He needed to go back to his friends as Dougie Poynter – McFly Bassist. Not Dougie Poynter – Worried Friend.

He sighed, and reopened the bathroom door, meeting slightly annoyed faces.

"Dude, if my bathroom smells I'll kill you." Tom said from his seat, looking serious.

"Um… it doesn't. Sorry… back to the song." He said, trying to refocus the attention. His friends gave him wary looks, but followed his suggestion and worked on building the song.

Two hours later, Dougie was driving home, pleased with his performance with his friends. After an awkward ten minutes, things fell back into place and everyone started acting normal again. Dougie was always slightly aware of the toilet paper in his pocket, but he was able to focus on the song. He was very proud of himself.

As Dougie was about to pull into his driveway, he hesitated. He had planned on enveloping Riha's letter and dropping it in the mailbox the moment he walked through his door. He glanced over at the pile of pre-stamped envelopes Fletch had given him on the passengers seat with the rest of his fan mail. Her letter could easily be addressed in the car…

Dougie pulled his pen out of his pocket, along with the toilet paper and an envelope. He carefully placed the toilet tissues in the envelope, and addressed it to Riha's already memorized school address. Dougie hesitated again before driving towards the big red letterbox. Her school was actually right around the corner…

Instead of having to wait a rough week to get her reply letter, Dougie could cancel out the three days it took for her to get his letter by just dropping it off at her school himself. It would save him postage… if the envelope hadn't already been stamped. But this way, she would have to tell on Aaron sooner, leaving less time for something worse to happen.

And he would get his reply three days faster.

Dougie pulled away from his driveway, speeding in the direction of her school. How had he not though about it sooner? This way, letter time would speed up and _maybe _he would actually get a glimpse of her. It was about the time when schools got out… but what if he was recognized? It would be _horrible. _

Dougie realized that he was ready to take that risk. Being recognized was just something that happened from being in McFly. He would have to deal with it.

As he pulled up to the school, he glanced around for the mailbox. If he could just stick in it and run it would reduce the chance of him getting mobbed.

The front door had a small bronze letter holder screwed onto the wall. Dougie almost laughed at how easy it had been, delivering the letter himself. All he had to do was make it to the mailbox…

Dougie parked his car on the edge of the road, almost in a straight line to the box. He walked quickly across the courtyard, keeping his hood up and his head down. Dougie reached the box in no time, smiling to himself as he dropped the letter into the empty basin. He was a genius.

As he began walking away, he grew cocky. He pulled his hood down, and laughed towards the sky. How lucky could he get? To just waltz right up to a school and with a single problem-

"Dougie Poynter? From McFly?" He heard someone ask from behind him. His heart sank as he spun around, startled.

Oh fuck.

There was a crowd of girls, leaving the building together. Their faces looked absolutely stunned as they recognized his face. He was such and idiot.

"Dougie!" They yelled, running towards him. Though he hated to admit it, even when he was getting chased away from a school full of hormonal girls, he liked it. He laughed hysterically as he jumped back into his car and pulled away from the curb. It was such a thrill – there were no words to describe it. He just prayed that none of the girls had seen him put the letter in the box. They had some crazy fans who would brake the law in order to read it…

Riha better get it…


	6. Chapter 6

**So this is probably the shortest chapter I've ever written. I wasn't sure if maybe the ones I've been posting were too long. I mean, I can easily write them that long but if it's too much to read at once just let me know. **

**Oh and by the way, have I mentioned how much I love you guys? Your reviews make me smile. I've never realized just how awesome feedback is. **

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Dougie flinched as Fletch smacked the local newspaper against the table, causing the many cups and dishes lying across the surface to bounce and fall on the floor. For the hundredth time that day, Dougie saw his bemused face inside his car on the cover of the black and white paper, being chased by a group of twenty or so girls. The article was short, though it was enough to make the front page.

"What on earth were you _doing_?" Fletch asked, almost disgusted. In all his time working with the band, he had never expected one of the boys to publicly display themselves for their own entertainment – or that's what Fletch thought had happened. The rest of McFly were standing around Dougie, arms folded and looks of disappointment plastered on their faces. It was completely unjustified; none of them had taken the time to find out what had _actually _happened.

"I wasn't doing it for kicks!" Dougie snapped angrily. How could all of his closest friends immediately betray him? They had all jumped to their own conclusion without even bothering to hear his side.

"Doug, look at the paper! It says it all!" Fletch yelled back, already on the verge of an eruption. Dougie squared his shoulders, ready to stand his ground. If he had actually done something wrong he would've taken the lecture, but he was innocent.

"Will you just listen for a second? The paper's obviously lied before!" He yelled again, hoping to grasp the attention of everyone in the room. His band mates looked skeptical, almost as though they had already decided not to believe his story. Weren't they supposed to be his best friends?

"What is there to know, Doug? You just _can't _go and do stuff like this! Even if it was never your intention!" Fletch cried, exasperated. Dougie furrowed his eyebrows, realizing that he was still guilty no matter what. He had never _planned _on looking like a pap-seeker, but that's what it looked like in the end. It didn't matter what he had planned…

"I just… I don't want you guys to think I did this for fun. I really didn't mean to…" His voice was quieter as he calmed down. Their concern was totally justified, even if he didn't like getting yelled at.

Fletch sighed as he sat down across from the young bassist. He'd been cursing and massaging his temples all morning, trying to come up with a solution to the problem. Dougie felt guilty, though he didn't totally regret what he'd done. Riha was already reading his letter.

"Doug… we're not mad at you. It's just… this isn't good for your rep is it? The fans will start thinking the fames getting to you. That's how most bands fall." Fletch said in a fatherly voice, concern coating his every word.

"I know, I know. But you guys believe me right? That I didn't do this on purpose?" He glanced away from Fletch to his three best friends. Their faces were hard, but after a moment or two they all gave small nods. Danny even offered a smile.

"Yeah, we know. You're too dumb to plan something like that, anyway." Danny laughed, patting Dougie on the back. Though the words were somewhat harsh, he appreciated them all the same. Danny's compliments could sometimes be kind of rude.

Dougie sighed thankfully, grateful that his friends were on his side. He picked a pear out of the fruit basket a fan sent him and bit into it as the hostile environment relaxed. The pear was pretty good…

"So what _were _you doing there?" Tom asked after a minute or two of no one speaking. Dougie coughed as he swallowed a bite of the fruit. He should've planned ahead and thought of a reason for the picture… What was he going to say? Telling Jazzie about Riha was telling enough people. He really didn't want anyone else to know… and if he told them why he'd really gone to the school… well, his secret would be out.

"Um, what?" He stalled, hoping to buy some time.

He could say that his car died and he was looking for someone to help him out. That wouldn't make sense though, because his car ran great and his band mates all knew that. Maybe he thought he recognized someone at the school? An old friend or something? No… they wouldn't buy it…

"Why were you at the school? I mean, in the article they say that you had no planned purpose for being there." Tom points to the paper still lying on the table, indicating said article. Dougie cursed under his breath.

"I was… dropping off a fan letter…" Dougie sighed, trying to lie but failing considerably. They were going to think he was so stupid for choosing to leave it in the _mailbox _and he didn't know how to defend himself without telling them everything.

He didn't want them to know. Anything.

"You were…" Fletch looked confused, his eyebrows pushing together and his mouth squished together in a straight line. "Let me get this straight, you went to a school full of highly crazy, pop cultured teenagers because you wanted to deliver a _letter_?" He asked, incredulously.

"Um… yes." Dougie replied, hoping to not have to elaborate. It was a ridiculous wish.

"What the _fuck_ were you thinking?" Fletch's anger rekindled as Dougie's story developed. How had he gotten himself into this situation?

"The letter was from this fan who goes to that school! I replied like normal and I figured I'd save some postage delivering it myself! I mean, it'd save time too! I didn't really plan ahead or anything-" Dougie said, hoping he wouldn't have to be too specific with names or anything.

"No kidding you didn't plan ahead. Doug, didn't you use the pre-stamped envelope anyway? How on earth would that save us postage?" Fletch asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer.

Was it Call Dougie Stupid Day or something? So what, he messed up. Everyone made mistakes, right? Why were his so important? Danny had made ten-times worse mistakes by dating kiss-and-tell whores. So what if some fans cornered Dougie? It had happened to _everybody_.

"Can we just chill? Seriously? Like, I didn't do anything actually _wrong_. It was fun dropping the letter off like that. No one was hurt, and who cares what this stupid article says? It's just the local paper! No one actually _reads _this stuff anyway!" Dougie felt his anger recoiling as the situation became heated once more. "I messed up. I get it! Can we just get over it and move on?" His anger, though logical and well pronounced, may have been a bit irrational. Subconsciously he knew that the real reason his defenses were going up had to do with his letters to Riha. The conversation was moving way too close for comfort to the subject. He wanted the letters to remain a secret. It was personal and had almost nothing to do with the band.

Okay, maybe it was due a bit to McFly, but that's not how he thought about it. He didn't think of Riha as a crazed fan looking for McFly gossip like half the other girls who wrote him. She was leaning towards the friend category, just because of how personal their messages had gotten. He hadn't even met her and he felt so protective! What was happening to him!

"Fine, we'll _chill_. But if this escalates, don't come crying to me." Fletch got up, angrily and left the apartment. Dougie bit the inside of his cheek, feeling guilty and ashamed. He hadn't meant to sound rude or snobby with Fletch; he was the kind of father that Dougie had never had in his life. He respected the guy so much.

"Dude, what's with you today?" Harry asked, looking at Dougie weirdly. The look was one that Dougie wished he never see on his friends' faces. All of their stares held suspicion and some kind of worry… like they didn't know who he was.

"I'm just… I don't know. Tired. I'm just tired." Dougie lied, hoping they wouldn't see past it. He stood up from his chair and walked in to his living room, flopping down on the couch lazily. The T.V. remote was all the way across the room; on the small table he had for a lamp his mother had given him.

"Tired… right." Tom spoke sarcastically, knowing Dougie was lying. The boy flinched, hoping he wouldn't be questioned further. He just _couldn't _tell three of the most important people in his life the truth. He was the worst friend ever.

"Doug, something's up. Everything alright with home?" Danny asked, true concern coloring his tone. Guilt washed through Dougie as his friends came into the room and sat with him. They were truly concerned for him… how could he tell them that his secret had nothing to do with his family? That everyone was fine and peachy? That they were all worried for no reason at all?

"Everything's fine at home. I really am just tired…" Dougie sighed, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at his friends faces while he lied.

No one spoke after that, though he knew that they were all communicating silently. He couldn't stand it…

"Look, guys. I think I'm just going to head to bed. I'll call you later." Dougie said, hopping up and dismissing them from his flat. It was the first time he'd actually _kicked _them out. They're faces seemed to realize the same thing as they awkwardly filed over to the door.

"See you, Doug." They mumbled, leaving him alone.

What the fuck was he doing to himself?

He entered his bedroom, flopping down on the unmade bed and tangling himself up in the blankets. He didn't care that he was still in his jeans, or still wearing his shoes, or that his phone was probably breaking in his pocket. He was comfortable in his little hidden dome – away from the rest of the world. It was just himself tangled in his bed. Just Dougie Poynter. No one else. Being alone was exactly what he wanted.

Dougie peeked his eyes open to see his bedside table a few inches away from his nose. On top of the table, strewn with cups and lizard magazines, lay Riha's most recent letter. Dougie's gut twisted as he thought of her silently suffering from her ex's abuse. The worst thing in the world was having a secret no one else knew.

Why did he suddenly hate being lonely so much?


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Yeah, I went up to New Hampshire to visit my Grandpa for a few days because we have a lovely February break. So those like… two days that I didn't post? I was thinking of this chapter lol.**

**I wanted to make Fletch a bit nicer… he was kinda grumpy in the last chapter. He's a nice man! I swear! And… Dougie was sounding way to upset for my liking. I made him happy again… now I'm giving everything away… **

**Okay, read. And review. It's really really nice. =]**

**********

A few days later, Dougie pondered quietly to himself how he could possibly get Riha's letter out of the P.O. Box without Fletch knowing. The Holy Thursday in which Fletch normally removed their letters was a good three days away, leaving Dougie anxious and twitchy.

If Riha had gotten his letter like he had planned, and she responded quickly, _and_ if his calculations were correct, her letter would be waiting with all the other fan letters in the P.O. box.

Dougie had no clue how to get it.

Especially because anything involved with Fletch was a sensitive subject. The after effects of their fight were still lingering in the atmosphere whenever the two were in the same room. Dougie knew he needed to apologize; Fletch just had his best interest at heart. But he had no clue how to proceed. Would he just walk up to him, stick out his hand and say "Sorry, I'm an angry little boy who has a secret pen pal that drives me insane with worry. Forgive and forget?"

It just didn't work out so well.

Dougie looked around the studio from his spot behind his bass. He hadn't been feeling the Bass Mood he normally felt when he played. His fingers just wouldn't work and he kept messing up throughout the songs. He could tell just how much he was starting to annoy his mates even though he was really trying his best. His mind was just preoccupied.

"Dougie? You do realize that we're playing Lies, right? Not Everybody Knows?" Tom asked, looking shocked.

Had he played the wrong song?

"Oh, crap. Sorry…" Dougie mumbled, realizing that he had completely missed his bass solo. How had he switched the songs? They sounded nothing a like!

"Yeah, let's take it from the top!" Danny sighed in frustration, glancing at Dougie for a moment before he picked up the familiar guitar riff.

Dougie concentrated throughout the entire song, though he still messed up. It was like he completely forgot how to play their own songs. What was wrong with him? He knew the notes like he knew the back of his hand! Why couldn't he play them?

"Alright, let's break." Tom sighed as they finished, looking frustrated. Dougie set his bass on the stand, embarrassed, and made his way out of the recording room behind his friends. No one was talking, not sure how to describe their morning.

"Dougie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Fletch asked, looking at Dougie pointedly and the young boy felt breath left him in a rush in response. What did his manager need to talk to him about? He looked so serious and business like that it worried Dougie. Was… was he about to fire him?

"Yeah… sure." Dougie choked out, hoping his fear wasn't evident upon his face. If he was kicked out of McFly… he had no clue what he would do. Would his friends really do that to him? Sure, he wasn't treating them how they deserved to be treated and lately his bass skills had gone down the drain but… oh who was he kidding? They deserved the best bassist ever. No matter who it was… If they needed him to leave, he would…

"Dougie? You looked terrified. Are you okay?" Fletch asked as they entered an empty hallway, walking aimlessly through the corridor.

Dougie wasn't sure where his voice had gone. It was like one of his nightmares had finally come true. McFly was his home. What if he lost it? Revoked by the same bank that had given him luxury on a silver platter…

"I…" Dougie couldn't speak. "Please don't fire me!" He finally gasped out, hoping that if he sounded desperate enough that maybe Fletch would take pity on him.

"What?" His manager stopped walking for a moment, completely shocked. Was he shocked because Dougie knew his intentions? Surprised that the boy had discovered his meaning?

"Please! I know that I haven't been playing well lately but I've got stuff on my mind and I promise, promise, _promise_ that I'll play better. I just…" Dougie didn't know how to finish. How could he beg for his life?

"Dougie, why on earth would you think your friends would fire you?" Fletch looked stunned as they began subconsciously walking again. His arm had moved comfortably around Dougie's shoulders like a father leading his son. Dougie leaned into the warmth.

"Well… I mean, you look so serious and I've been frustrating the guys lately and I just…can't play right now… I don't know…" Dougie sighed, shaking his head in frustration.

"Dougie, they're not firing you. They love you too much!" Fletch laughed, pulling Dougie into a one-armed hug.

"They're… not?" How could he get so lucky?

"No! Of course not! How could you_ ever _think that? Kid, you're all McFly. It's like a deck of cards. Once you lose one card, the entire deck is worthless." Fletch said comfortingly. "Is that what's had you freaked lately? You thought they were firing you?" Fletch looked concerned, forgetting that he and Dougie had been in a fight.

"No… but… I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know you were just doing it for me… I guess I just snapped. I'm sorry." Dougie apologized, though he already knew he had been forgiven.

"Don't even worry about it. There's something on your mind and I get it. Everyone has that point in time where things just suck." Fletch explained, comforting the young bassist. "It helps, though, for you to talk about it. Seriously, whatever it is you can tell me." He continued reassuringly.

Could he tell Fletch about Riha? As he looked up to his managers face and saw the concern that lined his features, and he realized that if he could talk to anyone about it, Fletch was the man. Dougie took a deep breath, pulled away from under Fletch's arm and moved to slide down the empty red wall next to him. He sat on the ground; his knees pulled up to his chest and waited for Fletch to sit next to him. It would be a long story.

As Dougie talked, Fletch remained silent, listening and nodding his head as the story moved along. Dougie talked about everything. How he hadn't mentioned Riha in the beginning because he feared ridicule from his friends, and then how that fear turned into some form of strange liking in response to the secret.

When he mentioned Riha's letters, a huge smile formed on his face. He told fletch everything he knew about her – everything he was able to interpret from her letters. She liked animals, loved her sister, didn't live with her mom, was so smart, was hilarious, and so much more. He told Fletch just how much he worried about her as he described her last letter and how he wrote back on toilet paper.

"So that's why you delivered it to the school? It got to her faster that way?" Fletch asked, speaking for the first time. Dougie nodded and continued on with his story, picking up right where he left off.

"Her reply should be here today… that's why I'm so antsy, I guess. I just… need to know that she's told someone about Aaron. I don't know what I'd do if this guy really hurt her. How could I live with myself knowing that I'm the only ones she's told?" Dougie asked aloud, hoping that an answer would miraculously appear from the sky.

It was silent for a moment while he and Fletch sat motionless. Dougie tested his emotional feelings, noticing that he didn't feel nearly as worried as he had before he talked to Fletch. A huge weight really had been removed from his chest as he sat and breathed, sinking into the peaceful feeling coursing through him.

Fletch had been right.

"You want to go get her letter?" Fletch asked, pulling a ring of keys out from his pocket. Dougie eyed it curiously, wondering why he had so many keys in the first place. "This one goes to the P.O. box." Fletch explained as he indicated a small bronze key, hidden among its peers.

"But… I thought you had a system going?" Dougie asked, surprised.

"Yeah, well. Fuck the system." Fletch laughed as he and Dougie stood up again. "We'll just have to tell the others we're leaving. I think you've had enough practice for today, yeah?" Dougie almost kissed the man.

They reentered the room, a huge smile plastered on Dougie's face as he collected his jacket.

"You look happy!" Danny commented, a huge grin evident on his own face. For the guitarist, smiles were contagious and he was very prone to catching the Happy Bug. Dougie laughed and rolled his eyes as Fletch threw his own coat on over his shoulders.

"Doug and I are going for a drive. You guys can keep going if you want, but you're free to leave whenever." Fletch commented as he led Dougie out of the room, a small smile on his face as well.

At that point, Dougie knew things would be okay. One person, besides Jazzie, knew his secret, but it was still fine. He didn't make fun of Dougie at all, but actually understood.

As the drove and sang along to the radio, Fletch told Dougie a secret of his own.

"You know, I have a pen pal, too." He laughed as they pulled into the post offices parking lot.

"No way?" asked Dougie, surprised.

"Yeah. My niece. She's been writing to me since she was seven years old. Weird thing is though; I think she's in your friend Riha's class. She had the same assignment to write to someone as a homework assignment. She wrote to me because she has been for the past decade. Her teacher really likes her." Said Fletch proudly as they stepped out of the car and went into the building.

"That's actually kind of hilarious." Dougie stated as they entered the building. "What're the chances of that happening?" He laughed a bit as Fletch led the way to the P.O. box.

"It's a weird world, Dougie. What's the teachers name?" He asked, as he inserted the key into the rather large, gold cupboard.

"Mr. Hill." Dougie replied, watching intensely as his manager pulled the stack of letters out of the dark box.

"Yeah, that's Rebecca's class." He laughed as he turned and handed the pile to Dougie. "You get the honor of looking for it." The pile was placed into Dougie's arms and Fletched moved to sit on the bench located nicely in the office. Dougie took a deep breath and began flipping through the letters, one by one.

What felt like a half hour later, Dougie began to fear that he wouldn't find the letter. What if she hadn't sent it right away? What if she was procrastinating or something? Had it been a total waste of time-

What was that?

Dougie flipped back a letter or two, sighing in relief.

"Got it." He mumbled to Fletch, pulling the delicate envelop out of the huge pile. His manager hopped off the bench, took the letters and resealed them back into the vault. Dougie held the letter gingerly in his hands as he and Fletch made their way back to his car.

Once inside, Dougie ripped the paper back and laughed. Handfuls of napkins fell out of the paper, all having hand written notes all over them. They were labeled in numeric order, and Dougie searched frantically for number one.

"Are those napkins?" Fletch asked, confused.

"I wrote to her on toilet paper. Told you she was funny." Dougie smirked, letting out a happy cry once he found the first napkin in the sequence of her letter.

_Hey Doug, _

_I'm not locked in the lunchroom writing to you, but napkins were the closets fun objects to write on apart from toilet paper. It is kind of weird that I'm writing this during lunch though… I guess that's why no one finds this totally weird. Only a __**little**__ bit… _

_Let me just start by saying just how awesome you are. Seriously, how completely ironic is it that your letter was totally serious and written on toilet paper? I've never heard of anything like it before._

_And the fact that you dropped the letter off at my school? That's kind of epic, my friend. All of the girls in my class wouldn't stop talking about it. At first I thought that they were just trying to take the mick out of me… you know, because you're my pen pal. But then pictures started going around and I was like OH MY GOD. He was really here._

_So thank you._

_Your letter… made me smile. I don't know how else to describe it. I just smiled the entire time reading it (apart from when you talked about your dad. That made me kind of mad. But I'll get to that later.) Thank you so much for totally being on my side. I know it sounds stupid, but I was kind of worried that you'd pull the Bro's before Hoe's thing and take Aaron's side. I don't know… so yeah, thank you for not doing that. _

_I told my guidance counselor about what happened. She's this really sweet old German woman who won't take shit from anyone. Seriously, you were right to make me tell someone. Aaron's been suspended from school because apparently what he was doing counts as sexual harassment. I won't have to deal with him for a very long time. See? Now you don't have to die. It's all handled. _

_And I know what you mean about worrying about your sister meeting some sick messed up guy. I half want my sister to turn out lesbian. I don't know what I'd do if she grew up and dated an Aaron. Oh my sister's name is Alicia by the way. She's named after my mum. I'm named after my grandmother. It's kind of sweet I guess. _

_I do have one thing of advice for dealing with your sister. I'm a girl, so I kind of get how this works. We don't want to be controlled. At all. If you tell us who we can and can't date, that only makes us want to stay with the person more. We like to try and fix people, and that's why a lot of girls date assholes. They think "Oh, maybe he'll change for me!" and now I'm realizing just how ridiculous that is._

_Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't pressure Jazzie into not dating some guys. It wont work that way. Instead, you should tell her why you legitimately don't think that the guy is good for her. Think about it before hand though; maybe (and no offense is meant here) it could just be your older brother prejudices making you feel that way. If you have serious reasons, like you know the dude has cheated before or maybe he has a crime history, she'll at least hear you out._

_Okay, anyways. _

_Is it kind of weird that I'm glad you told me about your dad? I mean, I'm not happy you had to go through that at all, but remember your lame comment about us being pals? Well I totally feel like a pal. (Yeah… that is such a sucky word. It's like I'm talking to my grandma about a play date.) I'm just really glad that you can tell me this shit. I kind of know what you mean with your dad, in a way. My mom, well she never ever hurt us, but she's gone too. My mom died when my younger sister was born because of a birthing problem. _

_Alicia looks so much like my mom. I know my dad hurts a bit inside every time he has to look at her, but I know he loves her a lot anyway. How could someone not love her? She' s like a prodigy. _

_I kind of ramble on about her a lot, don't I? Okay, anyway. _

_Thanks for answering those questions! Mr. Hill doesn't care that I changed the format of them at all. I told him that you were expelled from school when you were eleven for threatening to kill a teacher and he seemed very open-minded for a different set of questions to ask you. (Seriously, I really did tell him that. Sorry.)_

_Marcella says hello. She's with me right now actually. She's a bit bummed that I'm paying more attention to you and writing a letter instead of talking to her. I told her that I can multi-task and talk to her and write you at the same time, but she's still being a bum. _

_I am not a bum!_

_That was Marcella. I went to the bathroom and she stole the letter. Some friend, right? Doesn't matter, I love her anyway. _

_Oh now her new boy-toy is here. Dude, I can totally tell she's trying to make things awkward right now. They might as well be having sex. I think she's trying to get back at me. I need to leave. Bit awkward! I'll send this right now. BYE!_

_Sincerely, (I hate writing that…)_

_-Riha_

Dougie sighed happily as he slid the napkins back into the envelope. He looked around the car in what he hoped was a casual way to find anything to write on.

"I have some receipts if you want to write on the back of them. It's just from Chinese places and stuff." Fletch laughed as he pulled the visor above his head down, dropping five or so receipts into his lap.

"Pen?" Dougie asked, and like Fletch was reading his mind he handed him a thin ballpoint pen.

_Hey Riha,_

_My reply is going to be kind of short. I'm in the car with my manager and we only have a few receipts to use. _

_Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for talking to someone. Look, now Aaron's out of your hair. You'll never have to deal with him again! Or, at least until he goes back to school, and then your teachers should arrange your schedules so that he stays as far away from you as possible. I heard that they started doing that for students worried about safety and stuff. _

_And your advice for what to do with Jazzie? Dude, why do you girls have to have complicated minds? Can't you all just think, "Oh, he's an asshole. Oh well, I'll move on to a nice gentleman like Dougie Poynter"? That would be the best thing ever. Seriously. That's why guys are so easy to please, because we think very simply. Usually if the girl is annoying or a bitch (no offence meant… though I've sworn before? Why do I suddenly feel disrespectful?) I'll just avoid them. Easy peasy. _

_But yeah. Thank you for the wonderful girl advice. Now I'll finally know how to talk to Jazzie. _

_And I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I'm sorry about your mom. I mean, I hate it when people say they're sorry about what happened with my dad, but my 'sorry' is a bit different. I just think it sucks that it happened to you and Alicia. Bad things happen to the best people. It's just a really sucky world sometimes. _

_Know what else sucks? That your teacher thinks I'll want to kill him. Please, tell him that I'm actually quite nice and I mean him no harm. (unless he's an asshole. Then I mean serious harm! Grrrrrr.)_

_That was weird. _

_Anyway._

_Hey, sense I had to answer all those questions, I think you should too. Except, I have different questions. Hmm…Who is your favorite band (apart from McFly!), where would you like most to visit in the entire world, when is your birthday, what color is your bedroom (nothing funny, I swear), when did you first learn how to ride a bike, what is your favorite book series, what is your favorite holiday, have you ever stolen anything (if yes, what?), do you play an instrument, and do you like any sports?_

_I figure that those are good questions. I should know them, right? If we're going to keep up with this pal (God, we need a new word!) thing._

_I'm in the car with my manager right now, which I've already mentioned, and he thinks that his niece is in your class. Rebecca Fletcher? Do you know her? _

_Okay, I'm out of room. Tell Marcella that it doesn't matter to me if she's a horn dog or a bum. Some of my best friends are horn dogs and bums and they lead perfectly normal lives. She has nothing to worry about. =]_

_Talk to yah later, girrlll. _

_-Dougie_

As Dougie finished up his reply, a sudden epiphany popped into his brain. If Riha replied to his letters quickly, he would usually receiver her responses within three days, right? Then he would have to find Fletch for the P.O. box key, search through the P.O. box, and then reply to her letter.

Why didn't he just make it simpler?

"Hey, do you have like… maybe a business card or something? Just a small piece of scrap paper?" Dougie asked Fletch as he looked around the seats. His manager looked thoughtful for a moment before reaching under his own seat and pulling out a messy handful of cards.

"These are from people who want to work with you guys. They're just crap cards. Complete phonies." Fletch explained as Dougie sifted curiously through the pile. He picked up a plain white card with almost no writing on it whatsoever and jotted his brilliant epiphany down on the back.

"You're giving her your home address?" Fletch asked, surprised once he recognized what Dougie was writing.

"Well, it'll be faster this way, right? And she's not one of those crazy fans who would give it out to everybody." Dougie defended as he stuck the card into the folded receipts.

"Do you just have an envelope? Doesn't need a stamp." Dougie mumbled as he looked around Fletch's car.

"Right here." He replied, handing the small rectangular paper over to Dougie who slid the receipts into the folds.

"Are we… are we already at her school?" Dougie asked, shocked as he looked up and noticed their surroundings.

"Yes. And give me the letter. I'll drop it in the box this time, Mr. Pretty Boy." Fletch laughed as Dougie handed the letter over and watched in amazement as his manager did him the biggest favor.

Dougie Poynter suddenly realized that he didn't feel quite as alone anymore.


	8. Chapter 8

**So, yeah. You guys are all amazing. Like. Beautiful. =]**

**This one is a nice, medium size. I quite like how it turned out. **

**I almost didn't post it today because of that annoying lag thing. **

**But I will, just for you guys. I'm off to go watch Family Guy. Bye!**

**************

Karma must've existed. Or maybe it was that Newton's law. The one that said 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction.' Whatever it was, Dougie knew that something existed. There had to be something out there that caused his horrible days to be horrible, and his amazing days to be amazing. They always felt like reactions; like if one bad incident never happened, the other incidents wouldn't occur. Or, at least, they wouldn't feel as significant.

It was the exact same with good incidents. You never really appreciate them until you've had a few bad ones. Dougie wouldn't have recognized the amazingly wonderful feeling of peace before he walked into Harry's house if it hadn't been for the horrible news Harry had in store for him.

"Is this an April Fools joke?" Dougie asked, speechless. His good mood – his _amazing _mood – was crushed in a second as Harry's words reached his ears. His morning had been going perfectly! He slept late, had a great cup of coffee, didn't worry about Riha, and had even _walked_ to Harry's because of the great weather. Karma was a bitch. What had he done wrong?

"Don't be stupid, Doug. And it's not really a _blind _date, per say. More like a date with a girl that you don't know, but I do…" Harry said, trying to make the situation sound more appealing.

"Haz, I appreciate what you're doing, really I do, but _don't_ do it."

"She's a nice girl! She's a friend of my cousin's… or at least they went to school together… I think. But give it a chance, Doug! You never even gave that girl from the club last week a chance." Harry lectured; sounding very father-like as he referred to the outing he had pulled Dougie on a week earlier.

"That's because she had a haggle tooth."

"Don't be so picky, Doug."

"Oh, please! It was like the size of Pride Rock!" Dougie cried, referring to the wonderful film, The Lion King. When in doubt, always resort to Disney. Everyone understands the references.

"It was not." Replied Harry, rolling his eyes at Dougie's immaturity. "I swear, she's a really nice girl. Why not give her a chance? Maybe you'll like her." The hopefulness in Harry's tone was hard to miss, and Dougie had a hard time denying his friend. Would it hurt if he went on _one_ date?

Dougie let out a deep sigh and in frustration, ran his hands through his hair. "Fine. I guess I'll go on _one _date. But you have to promise me that after this you won't set me up on any more blind dates." Dougie bargained, looking his older friend directly in the eyes.

"Who, _me_? Set you up on dates? Never!" Harry replied, his smile growing wide as Dougie accepted. Dougie rolled his eyes, trying to concoct ways to make fall ill by the evening.

**********

"Now, her name is Saskia. She likes lilacs, the color teal, and animals. See? You already have a few things in common." Harry laughed happily as he led Dougie to the door, Dougie's date waiting patiently on the other side.

"Dude, I don't even know what color _teal _is." He stated, looking at his friend doubtfully.

"Um… I think it's blueish… Ah, hello Saskia!" As Harry opened the door, Dougie's face remained emotionless. The girl on the other side of the wooden frame was in fact, quite beautiful, but Dougie wasn't shaken. He saw beautiful people every day.

"Hello Harry, long time, no see!" She giggled as he eyes casually traveled to Dougie. "Hello Dougie." Her small voice sounded shy as she smiled coyly in his direction.

"Hey." He replied, giving her a polite smile. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.

As Dougie drove them along in the car, Saskia handled most of the talking. She told him all about her time in school, her family, and her friends. It was easy for him to sit and think about other things while she prattled on, as he only had to offer signs of life every now and then. He would mumble in understanding or in agreement when he caught a sentence or two, but otherwise he was in his own world.

After they placed their orders in the normal looking restaurant Dougie had brought them too, he started subconsciously comparing the girl sitting across from him to Riha. He wondered if the color teal was her favorite color too, or if she talked a lot in real person. Did her hair curl like Saskia's? Did their skin look anything alike? He knew he was anxious for her letter, which was supposed to arrive the following day, but that was no excuse for judging the girl in front of him.

"Oh good, foods here!" Said Saskia happily, smiling widely as her ceaser salad (without the dressing) was placed in front of her, while Dougie's normal cheeseburger slid onto his place.

"Are you not hungry?" He asked, speaking for almost the first time the entire evening. It always concerned him when girls ate very little, especially if they were trying to impress him. He never wanted anyone to be sick just in hopes to please him.

"Oh, I normally get salads when I'm out. Not because I don't eat or anything, but I'm vegetarian, remember?" She replied, as though she had mentioned the information before. He should have paid some attention…

"But no dressing?" He asked as he guiltily looked down at his burger.

"Ceaser dressing has anchovies in it, and honestly, I guess I just don't like the taste of the other dressings." She said, shrugging her shoulders as she delicately popped a cherry tomato into her mouth. "Now, Dougie, what about you? I feel like I've been talking this whole evening!"

"Well," Dougie began, trying to remember some piece of information she mentioned to go off of. Something to maybe start her talking again…"I'm not a vegetarian, but I like animals. I have a few lizards back at my place." He spoke somewhat proudly. He loved his animals.

"Lizards? Oh gosh I couldn't get near those things!" She giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. "They scare the life out of me!" Saskia whispered, as though it was a secret or maybe so his lizards wouldn't hear her. Dougie didn't know…

"Oh… so, um… what animals do you like, then?" He asked, trying not to sound offended.

"Oh, lots of animals. I love cats and dogs so much. And farm animals, like cows and pigs. That's why I chose to stop eating meat. You see, the actual process to slaughter an animal…"

Dougie tuned her out as he bit into his burger, trying to ignore the pictures she was illuminating inside his brain. Wasn't it like, proper dinner etiquette to _not _talk about animal slaughter while eating?

He needed something to distract his thoughts as she rambled on. Plotting ways to kill Harry for his extremely useless favor seemed like a very good subject. Dougie could poison him, though a coroner would easily detect it… and Dougie wouldn't know what to use anyway. Maybe he could attach a bomb to Harry's drum kit. Bang, bang, BOOM!

No… too messy. And Dougie had no clue how to build a bomb anyway. Even if he looked the information up in a library, he'd still mess it up somehow. Probably kill himself before it was even finished…

Who was he kidding? He had no clue how to kill any body. Harry would just have to be allowed to live another day…

"Are we all finished here?" The waitress asked as she arrived back at their table. Dougie nodded politely to his empty plate, and Saskia handed her own over as well.

"I'll be right back with your check." The waitress smiled and walked away as Dougie pulled out his wallet, ready to pay with cash. He didn't want to wait around…

"So is there anything on the agenda next?" Saskia asked, looking excited. Dougie stopped motionless for a moment. Was there supposed to be more? Did she mean like, a movie or something?

"Um…" Dougie replied nervously. They could go to the theater to see if something was interesting…

"Doug, I get it." Saskia interrupted as an understanding look crossed her face. "You're not that into this, are you?" She asked, looking at him directly.

"What? Oh, sure I am-"

"Seriously? I'm not that dumb, Dougie." She laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, you've barely said a word all night. I've been nervously spewing information just so that the awkward silence wouldn't come." She confessed, causing a wave of guilt to wash through Dougie as he realized he was completely transparent with his feelings. She probably knew the entire time he was zoning out that he wasn't listening to a word she said…

"Saskia, I'm sorry… It's just… I don't know. Harry's been trying to set me up for a while, you know? And I'm just not looking right now." He said, hoping he wouldn't hurt her feelings. He really misjudged her.

"I get it, really. Though I think that maybe it's not because you're not interested," she began, causing Dougie to quirk an eyebrow in curiosity. "I think it's because there's already a girl on your brain, Mr. Poynter." She said slyly as the waitress returned with the check. Dougie silently slid the bill into the folds and handed it right back to her as he and Saskia stood up. He tried to hide his shock by busying himself with his jacket and leading her quickly through the restaurant. He had no idea how to respond.

"So, do you?" She asked mysteriously as they were both situated back in the car. Dougie glanced over at her, still searching his brain for the answer.

"Um… I don't really know…" He replied honestly.

"Ah, unrequited love." She said, shaking her head and smiling.

"Wait… doesn't unrequited mean like… unanswered? Or unreturned? Like getting rejected by someone?" He asked, a little offended.

"Technically, yes. But have you told her you like her? Have you two gotten together? Or is it just a little thought inside your head, bumping around for your thoughts only?" She asked, looking at him as though she could read those very thoughts. "Unrequited love." She finished, looking pleased.

"But… I don't know if I even _like_ her. I just… think about her." He defended, his image of Riha popping into his head. Dougie suddenly realized that he had never talked to the guys about something like this before. They had to be men with each other. Manly men! Or, they tried to be, at least. Having a girl's input really was great, even though it confused the crap out of him.

"Give it time, Doug. The more you think about this girl, the more obvious it will be. Just give it time."

Dougie was quite once Saskia finished, thinking her words over. Could he really think of Riha like that? Truthfully, he hadn't really thought of her any other way beside a friend. Maybe it was just because he had never seen her. Like he might as well have been talking to a guy for all the romantic progress they'd made. It was kind of like _she _wasn't really there.

"Wow… um, thanks." Dougie mumbled, as he drove on. He still felt bad about what happened with their date. She deserved something a little better.

"No problem…" She trailed off, seeming as though she wanted to say more.

"What?" Dougie asked, curiously.

"Well…" A nervous, and maybe a little awkward, expression appeared on her face as it flushed red with embarrassment. "Do you think, that maybe, because our date didn't really go as planned… maybe you could introduce me to Danny? Danny Jones?" She asked sounding excited.

Of _course_.

Dougie almost laughed out loud at the sheer irony of the situation. The girl he was supposedly going on a date with really had it for the playboy!

"Um…" Dougie trailed off, trying not to laugh.

"I mean, and no offence meant Dougie, but I really thought that Harry was going to set me up with Danny! He told me so and everything… and I mean, he's _The Danny Jones_…" She trailed off looking amazed. "And, well, you're nice and everything, but… Danny Jones!" She squealed, showing her inner fan-girl.

Dougie rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face. He wanted to ask himself what the chances were of something as outrageous as this happening, but he realized the chances were actually quite big. Every girl wanted Danny.

"You know what? I'll give him a call." Dougie laughed as he pulled his phone out.

Two minutes later, the deal was made. He turned his car around and headed the short distance to Danny's house, laughing as Saskia thanked him.

"Oh gosh, you have no idea how excited I am! My friend will never believe me. Oh thank you, thank you, Dougie! You're the best, you know that?" She squealed as they pulled into the driveway.

"Now, Saskia," Dougie began as the walked out of the car and towards the front door. "I like you enough to warn you that Danny isn't what some girls like to call A Committer. He likes to… play the field, if you know what I mean. Sometimes it may seem quite rude, but… well that's Danny for you." Dougie said, shrugging his shoulders and he rang the doorbell. Normally he would've just walked right in, but Danny was probably setting up some weird props to hook the girl. He was like Quagmire from Family Guy…

"Oh, thanks for your concern, Dougie. But seriously, I'm not looking for much. Just… Oh he's Danny Jones!" She squeaked again, causing Dougie to almost hate Danny's name. How many times had he heard it in one night?

Before Dougie could reply, the door swung open casually, revealing a smartly dressed Danny on the other side. Dougie had to resist rolling his eyes at his friend's woman-powers.

"Hello lovely," He swooned, smiling charmingly in Saskia's direction. Dougie cut in before things could progress, trying to politely take his own leave.

"Danny, this is Saskia, a friend of Harry's. We just got back from dinner, and I thought that maybe it would be a good idea for you two to see a movie or something." Dougie hoped his opening was enough for Danny to take.

"A movie would be perfect. I heard that the movie with Jim Carry is still in theaters. Though, it would be a shame that no one could see you in your lovely teal dress, Saskia." Danny charmed, smiling again.

"You know the color teal?" Dougie asked, confused. He looked over at Saskia again, noticing her blue-green halter dress. Harry was kind of right about the color.

"Aren't you supposed to be leaving, Doug?" Danny asked, looking at him pointedly.

"Right… um, I'll just be on my way, then. See you later guys!" He called over his shoulder as he almost ran back to his car, nearly laughing out loud as Danny led a gob smacked Saskia to his own car.

As Dougie drove back to his own place, he decided Harry needed to know about the events of the evening. He wouldn't be happy, but it was all his fault anyway.

As the phone rang, it went to voice mail, allowing Dougie full access on what he was about to say.

"Hello Haz, just wanted to inform you that my date tonight with Saskia actually went to my liking. I just dropped her off at Danny's house so that he could take her to the movies. I think they're seeing Yes Man, which I saw a few weeks ago. It's pretty good. Especially when everyone starts singing that Third Eye Blind song to the guy who's about to jump off a building. Oh, dang… what's the name of that song? Jumper, I think it is. Well, great song, great movie, fairly decent night… I'll talk to you in the morning. Night Haz!" Dougie laughed out loud as he hung up his phone. He hoped Harry saved that phone message, just because of how proud he was to have said it all.

A few moments later as Dougie reentered his own house, his phone flashed with an incoming call.

**Judd Mobile**

"House of kinky male photos, how may I help you?" Dougie asked, hoping to catch his friend in an untainted mood.

_"I just listened to my voicemails, Mr. Kinky Male. What the hell happened?"_ Dougie rolled his eyes as he threw his keys on his kitchen counter and took a beer out of his fridge. It was relaxing time.

"What on earth do you mean, Sir Harry?" Dougie asked, hoping to remain innocent.

_"Don't Sir Harry me, Poynter. Saskia is a nice girl! Why'd you drop her off with _Danny_?" _

"Oh you know, I'm evil and cruel. I like to see girls get played around with and I figured innocent Saskia was a perfect girl for the job." Dougie rolled his eyes at his own sarcasm. He could be so immature sometimes.

_"You might as well! Dude, does she know what's up?" _

"Obviously. I even gave her a little spiel about the Dan Man and she seemed fine with it. _She _asked _me _to take her there, anyway. It wasn't like _I_ suggested it."

_"I'm not buying it. Dougie, in the past, you've left girls I set you up with at the restaurants. This is just a step lower then that!"_

"Okay, One: I didn't _leave _her there. She had her own ride! Her car just broke down and her cell phone died! Two: Saskia really wanted to go. She has this inner lusting for Danny."

_"Still not buying it… Dougie, why can't you just like… like the girls I show you? Seriously, there's nothing wrong with them. Any other guy would kill for some of these girls." _

"It's not that I don't like them…" Dougie defended, searching his brain for the answer. "I just, didn't feel like it. You know? I just really didn't care."

_"Well… hey, why are you using past tense?"_

"What?"

_"Past tense. You really __didn't__ care? Do you now?" _

"What do you mean?" Dougie didn't know how to stall much further. He needed to end the call. ASAP. "Oh, crap Harry, my phone's dying! Got to go charge it! Bye!" And with that, Dougie hung up on his friend.

There was no logical way for him to have a thing for his _pen pal_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Sorry I kind of sorta haven't updated recently. School, hospital (there's a lot of Hospital in this chapter. Has nothing to do what I've got lol) and crappy New England weather. **

**So, this chapter has quite a lot of… Dougie being sick in it. Like throwing up. Sorry guys, but I promise he gets better. I'm just warning any squeamish people out there! **

**This chapter's pretty long, so you might want to grab a soda or some crackers before you start reading. Maybe hit the toilet really quick. Enjoy! =]**

**************

Throwing up was absolutely Dougie's least favorite thing in the world. Nothing good ever came from vomiting. Well, sure, it was your body's way of saying "No! Get that icky stuff out!" but for all Dougie cared, that icky stuff could stay right where it wanted to. Coming back up was the worst option ever.

He spit into the toilet one more time before standing up to get a drink. He couldn't figure out a reason for he sudden illness, especially because he hadn't been drinking. Dougie's stomach hurt like someone was stabbing him – god it was disgusting.

"Yo, Doug?" A voice called from his living room, most likely one of his band mates. He hadn't been answering his phone the entire morning because his head was preoccupied in the porcelain thrown.

"In here…" Dougie called back weakly, sitting on the edge of his bathtub and sipping a glass of water. He felt hot and sweaty, and his stomach gurgled, warning him that more unpleasant vomiting was on its way.

"You okay, mate? What's going on?" Dougie looked up to see Danny standing in his doorway, concerned. In his hand he held a handful of mail, confusing Dougie in his weak state.

"I don't know… I think that it's food poisoning from last night… something in the burger…" Dougie mumbled, holding his stomach.

"Oh dude, that sucks. Here, I got your mail for you on my way in." Danny said as he placed the envelopes on the counter near the sink. Dougie nodded in thanks, having no energy to get up and look through the letters.

"How'd you go with Saskia last night?" Asked Dougie, looking for something to distract him from the pain in his stomach.

"Ehhh!" Danny replied, a wide smile stretching across his face. "We saw Yes Man, and dude we didn't actually _watch _the movie. Dude, she's great." He was nodding his head in approval. "Thanks for hooking me up."

"No problem. Harry though she would be a good match for me but- ugh, hold on!" Dougie leapt up from his spot on the tub to throw in head in the toilet. Throwing up sucked.

"Dude, you're really sick… do you want me to call a doctor or something?" Danny asked as he refilled his friends glass of water.

"No… it'll pass… it's like throwing up when you're wasted. You just got to get through- ugh." His head in the toilet again…

"All right… maybe we should call the restaurant. Let them know that they had nasty meat." Danny suggested, handing Dougie the water.

"Actually, that'd be good." Dougie agreed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called information.

Danny took the phone from him once he started vomiting again, talking to the restaurant manager about the situation. He'd hung up after a few minutes, shrugging his shoulders.

"They said they'd pay for your hospital bill if you needed to go." He finished, looking smug.

"Yeah… if I go." Dougie mumbled, not really listening as he flushed the toilet.

"Look, mate, I have to go over to Tim Marten's to drop off my Gibson. Something's wrong with the pick ups… I feel kind of worried leaving you here alone, though. You get me?" Danny asked, sitting on the tile next to the bassist.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Shouldn't be here for too much longer." Dougie mumbled as he closed his eyes and sipped more water.

"You sure? I could call Tom or Harry. They'd be over in a minute." Danny offered, pulling his phone out.

"Seriously, I'm all good. You know how Harry gets around barf anyway…" Dougie chuckled, rolling his eyes subtly.

"Still…" He trailed off, observing his friend. "Maybe if I just give them a call, so that they can come and check on you at some point." Danny added, mostly just talking to himself. Dougie didn't even bother to reply as his friend put his phone to his ear.

Dougie barely heard the conversation they had as his face ended back up in the toilet bowl. There was no way he actually had _that _much guck in him! He'd loose half his body weight by the end of it.

"All right, Dougs, I have to go now. Tom will be over in a half hour or so to check on you. Call if you need anything, alright?" Danny checked, meeting the young bassists eye.

"Yeah, yeah. Now go get your guitar fixed." Dougie mumbled, sending Danny away. With a last Goodbye, he left Dougie alone in his house. He pulled away from the toilet again, leaning his back against the cupboards of his sink. Throwing up _sucked_.

Dougie suddenly remembered that Danny had brought in his mail. Wasn't Riha's letter due today? He reached up over his head and pulled down the pile, flipping through the normal junk mail and bills.

_Riha Anderson_

Dougie smiled softly as he pulled the pale white envelope away from all of the dark gray ones. Not wanting to upset his stomach with sudden movements, he slowly and carefully pulled back the fold, revealing normal writing paper. As he gently unfolded the letter, he sipped his water one more time, hoping to keep it down.

_Hey Dougie!_

_So I figured that I'd be a rebel and write on normal A4 paper. You know, be unique and different, that sort of thing. By the way, you go out to Chinese Food a lot. I'm pretty sure it's unhealthy._

_I don't know what to say about girls having complex minds, apart from the fact that we love having complex minds. I bet that you guys secretly love it too. You just can't wait to solve the mystery of What Makes Girls Tick? I guarantee that you'll never find out. Men have been trying to decipher us since the Stone Age. How far have they gotten? _

_And I know what you mean with the whole Sorry For Your Mom thing. It means a lot, so thanks. I kind of feel the same way about your dad, even though I know you hate hearing it. _

_Ha! Mr. Hill thinks that I'm lying when I say that you're really a wonderful person! He just looked at me like "Yeah… right…" and walked away. Dude, I'm sorry, but you're on his bad-list for life. My bad…_

_All right… I've been procrastinating long enough from your questions… here we go…_

_**What is your favorite band (apart from McFly)?**_

_No one beats you guys. It's just a fact…_

_No, actually, my favorite band of all time is this band from America. They're called Bayside? I don't know if you've heard of them or not… their music and lyrics are kind of just amazing… I've been hooked for years. _

_**Where would you like most to visit in the entire world?**_

_Is it horrible that I've never ever been to another country? Like, not even Ireland or France. Never been on a plane, either. I'm deprived. _

_I think I'd like most to go to America. I know it sounds cliché and stuff, but come on? New York? You like, have to experience that at SOME point. _

_Or maybe I'd like to go to Italy. It's supposed to be beautiful there…_

_**When is your birthday?**_

_Actually, my birthday is in two weeks, April 14__th__. Oh, happy April Fools day, by the way!_

_**What color is your bedroom?**_

_That is a seriously weird question, Poynter. My bedroom is dark blue and I share it was Alicia. She put up those glow-in-the-dark star things last week. They're kind of cool._

_**When did you first learn how to ride a bike?**_

_I think I was about five maybe? Well, that was when I started with the training wheels. The big girl bike came later._

_**What is your favorite book series?**_

_**  
**__Obviously it's Harry Potter. I'm a fanatic. Ask me any question about the books and I'll give you an accurate answer. The movies have been shit._

_**What is your favorite holiday?**_

_Hm… I guess I'll have to be cliché and say Christmas. There's no school, snow, family, presents, and eggnog… it's just great. _

_**Have you ever stolen anything?**_

_Technically, yes and no… well, maybe it's just yes and yes. But I didn't steal from a store or anything! Marcella, she went on holiday to Thailand once, and she stole the blanket off the plane. I stole the blanket from her because it's warm. _

_**Do you play an instrument?**_

_Why yes I do, thanks for asking. I play the piano, though really it's just a hobby. Nothing that I'd do as a career or anything, like you guys. I'm like a closet pianist. _

_**Do you like any sports?**_

_Oh god, I'm as uncoordinated as a slinky. I drop everything and fall over stuff… It's so embarrassing. Seriously. Actually, I prefer writing and stuff. It's must less hazardous to my health._

_That's kind of ironic, isn't it? That working out is hazardous to my health? I've never heard of that before. _

_Oh, and I agree that we need for a new word apart from Pal. Seriously, that's the most ridiculous word ever. Might as well be best buddies forever! Oh god, I'm back in nursery school…_

_Hey, tell your manager that I do know his niece. She's really nice, actually. Every now and then we'll sit together and lunch and stuff. Rebecca is probably the coolest girl in our class, I'd say though. She just has this aura of cool. Weird that I think that way. _

_Do you realize that you gave me your house address on the back of a masseuse card? Don't know if you planned it or not, but Dougie, since when can you give people professional massages? And is your name really Carl Ernestine? _

_Thanks for the address, by the way… Do you know how long it took me to actually find your P.O. box number? Dude, I checked four different websites and phone books. And now you just hand me your house address? God, if I knew it was that easy I wouldn't have done all that stuff in the first place. _

_Hey, kind of off topic, but do you know how hard Crème Brule is to make? We have to make it in my Home Economics class and seriously, I've literally blown stuff up trying to make it. Things were flying EVERYWHERE._

_Why do I need to know how to make this stuff anyway? It's not like I'm going to spend hours of my life cooking this stupid dessert for houseguests. I'll just go out and buy them cookies or something! Seriously, I don't need to make posh food. Cookies are better anyway._

_Actually, Crème Brule tastes really good. It could kick a cookies ass any day. I can't believe that I just compared it to a cookie…_

_All right, Doug, I got to go. I'm done with cooking for a while so I'm just going to order pizza tonight. Got to go call for delivery!_

_Sincerely, (can I just tell Mr. Hill that you'll kill him if I keep saying that?)_

_Riha_

Dougie laughed as he refolded the papers. His stomach was starting to feel better and he wasn't sure if it was because he finally got all the toxic stuff out of him, or if Riha's letter upped his spirits. Did he feel well enough to walk to his living room to get some paper to respond? Or would the motion set him off all over again?

"Hey, Doug! Where're you, man?" Dougie heard Tom call as he entered the house, sounding concerned.

"Toilet!" Dougie called back, sliding Riha's letter back into the envelope and hiding it inside his hoodie pocket.

"Dude, it smells like major barf in here." Tom laughed as he entered the roof, waving his hand in front of his face dramatically.

"Open the window then." Dougie told him, pointing to the little window on the wall. Tom walked over and fought with the lock, trying to pry it open. It must've been rusty due to the water evaporation from the showers.

"Know what? Let's just leave the door open. It'll vent out that way." Tom reasoned, opening the door wider.

Dougie nodded his head, though quickly regretted it. Nausea washed through him again, causing his stomach to stir.

"Damn," he mumbled as he leaned over the toilet again. Tom sighed and refilled Dougie's water glass for the thousandth time, and handed him a towel when he pulled away from the bowl.

"You're really not feeling well, are you?" Tom asked as Dougie wiped his mouth and drank more water. How much could he drink before he exploded?

"No… god, I haven't puked this much in ages." Dougie mumbled, trying to get the nasty taste out of his mouth.

"How long have you been going this morning?" Tom asked, looking worried.

"I don't know… I just remember waking up in bed and feeling like I needed to heave. It was still dark out…" Dougie mumbled, trying to think clearly.

"Dude, it's nearly eleven now!" Tom's face lit up with extreme concern as he sat on the ground next to his friend. "I think maybe we should bring you to the doctors. Just to be safe…" He trailed off as he pulled his phone out.

"But what could they do? I'd just be throwing up at the hospital instead of throwing up in my own home." Dougie replied, a bit bitter.

"It's just a precaution, Dougie. What if you pass out and hit your head or something?" Tom was working himself up, as he left messages on Harry's, Danny's, and Fletch's voicemails. He Gio last, letting her know what he was doing.

"I don't know what's going on. How long do people normally throw up for? It's been at least like… six hours, he says…. Yeah, I'll take him to the E.R., just in case." Dougie stopped listening as he talked to his girlfriend, loosing interest in the conversation.

"Shit…" He mumbled, his stomach stirring. Would he ever get a break?

"All right, he's throwing up again. I'm going to get him a bucket and take him now. Talk to you later, bye." Tom hung up and waited for Dougie to finish up.

"Stay here while I grab you some clothes and stuff, okay? Do you have any small trash cans or anything?" Tom asked as he stood up and started out the bathroom door.

"Um… yeah, I think under the sink in the kitchen I have one… Ugg…" Dougie leaned back into the toilet.

Tom rushed out of the room and gathered up some of Dougie's things, leaving the bassist alone. Had he really been vomiting for six hours? The time just seemed to mesh together to him. But god was he tired…

"Okay Doug, let's go. I've called into the Emergency Room, too. They know you're coming so we shouldn't have to wait too long." Tom informed him as they slowly walked through the house and outside. Dougie realized that he wasn't wearing any shoes, though he didn't really care. It felt good to have the cold ground touch his skin.

The ride to the hospital was quite easily the worst car ride of his life. He threw up constantly, whenever Tom would make a sharp turn or stop suddenly. London driving was the worst…

"Okay, we're here. Um… maybe you should dump the bucket out before we go in… actually, I'll do it. Here, give it to me…" Tom trailed off, pulling the bucket from Dougie's fingers as they stood beside Tom's Mini.

Dougie watched, motionless, as Tom walked over to a tree and dumped out the disgusting puke. Dougie didn't really want to watch, but he was scared that if he moved more of that vomit would come up.

They made their way into the E.R., and Dougie was proud when he only had to stop once. His throat hurt from the acid coming up, and he coughed quite a lot.

"Are you Dougie Poynter? And Mr. Fletcher?" The nurse at the front desk asked as they entered the room.

"That's us." Tom assured her, taking Dougie by the elbow and leading him after the nurse.

"So you've been vomiting for how long, Mr. Poynter?" She asked as they settled him into a wheel chair.

"Since before dawn…" He muttered, trying not to open his mouth too wide. The wheel chair was making him nauseous.

"Were you drinking last night?"

"No… I think I ate some bad beef, though." Dougie mumbled, closing his eyes.

"That explains some of it… did anyone else eat the meat?

"No… the girl I was with was a vegetarian."

"Okay, Mr. Poynter, thank you. I'm going to have you get into this Johnny and slide into bed. Mr. Fletcher, would you come outside with me and answer a few questions?" The nurse asked as she handed a nightgown to Dougie and led Tom back into the hallway.

The room Dougie was in was small and white. There were no lights on and the bed was freshly made.

He stood up from the wheel chair and placed the trash bucket lightly on the bed while he stripped off his clothes. Riha's letter fell out of his pocket and he quickly bent to pick it up.

Crap…

He waited a moment after he threw up, careful not to move. He slid the Johnny on slowly and got himself into the bed, carefully tucking Riha's letter under the pillow behind him.

There was a knock on his door and the nurse reentered with Tom right behind her, still looking worried.

"All right, Mr. Poynter, the doctor will be in to see you soon. Just make yourself comfortable and try to relax. We have a new bucket for you," She handed him a pale pink bucket, almost the exact same as his old one, except the new one had a plastic bag inside it, ready to hold whatever he spewed out.

"I'll just take your old one and put it in the wash." She said, trying not to look inside at the contents.

As she left, Tom sat on the edge of Dougie's bed, looking worried.

"Tom, I'll be fine. It's just food poisoning." Dougie assured him, his eyes drooping slightly as he talked. He was so tired…

Dougie woke up a few hours later and groaned. Ew, he threw up _in his sleep_. That was disgusting.

"Oh good, you're awake. Here, we have a new Johnny for you. My name is Dr. Brunswick. We ran a test while you were out, and it turns out you just have a very active case of Staphylococcus. Basically it's food poisoning, though it's not too horrible. Mostly it causes those infected for vomit profusely for up to two days. It's nothing to worry about unless you can't keep your fluids down, and you friend Mr. Fletcher told me that you were doing just fine. I think, just to be safe, we'll keep you here until tomorrow. Just to make sure that everything is moving smoothly." The doctor spoke in a very pompous tone, talking to Dougie as though he had just saved his life.

"So… I'm just going to keep puking for two days?" Dougie asked, feeling disgusted.

"I'm afraid so, son. Now, I just have a few questions about what food might've caused your reactions. You see, Staphylococcus isn't normally caused by eating meat, but by lettuce and other vegetables like that. You told Nurse Ellis that you though you'd eaten bad meat?" The doctor looked interested as he sat on the edge of Dougie's bed, waiting.

"Um… I had a date last night and I took the girl to Friday's. Um… I had a burger and she had a salad." Dougie said, thinking back.

"Your burger had lettuce and tomatoes on it?

"Yeah, and onions, too."

"Have you called your girlfriend today? To see if she's okay?" The doctor asked, looking concerned.

"Oh she's not my-" Dougie began before Tom, whom he hadn't see lurking in the back of the room, spoke up.

"She's fine. I called Danny to check." He told the doctor, sounding impatient. Dougie had a feeling that they had discussed this all before.

"Alright, Mr. Poynter. Thank you for your help. Now rest up so you can get better, okay?" The doctor said kindly, standing up and leaving the room.

"I've got to go, Doug. Gio's worried sick and visiting hours are over. Is there anything you'll need before I go? Danny says he'll be up to spend the night with you." Tom told him as he pulled his jacket on.

"Actually," Dougie began, his mind thinking clearer, "could you get me a pad of paper? And a pen? Oh, and an envelope too?" He asked, trying to sound innocent. Tom smiled and rolled his eyes as he left the room, returning moments later with Dougie's request.

"Some lyrics bopping around your head?" Tom asked. Always the songwriter…

"Something like that." Dougie shrugged his shoulders, waving goodbye as his friend left the room. He waited a moment to make sure he was really gone before he withdrew Riha's letter from under his pillow, opened it, and began to write his response.

_Hey Riha,_

_You will never believe where I am right now. Or maybe you would believe it. Who knows? _

_I'm in the hospital because my dip of a best friend set me up on a blind date with a girl and the restaurant that I took her to had food poisoning. Just my luck, right? _

_I've been puking for hours, and I won't mention it again because it's nasty. Tom and Danny have helped me a lot today, but Harry can't because he's got a weak stomach. (If he knew I told you that, he'd throw me across the room, sick or not.) _

_Hey, technically it's his fault I'm here in the first place. I mean, if he just kept to his own business I wouldn't have to have taken the girl out last night. Want to know how our wonderful blind date ended up? I dropped her off at Danny's house because she's been dying to meet The Danny Jones! God, I'm laughing just at how pathetic it was. _

_She was nice, though. Danny better have been good to her. _

_Now onto your letter…_

_I think that it's good we stopped writing on weird paper objects. The only options that I have here besides the paper I'm using now would be my charts. I kind of need those…_

_And we men have NOT been trying to figure you women out since the Stone Ages! We have LIVES, you know! I mean…well… actually, you're right. Our lives totally revolve around women. Goddamn…_

_And about the dad thing… it's not that I don't like it when people say their sorry, but it's like… I hate it when people feel like they HAVE to say something, you know? Like they just have to bring it up. Like their not sure how I feel about it, so they settle with an "I'm Sorry" hoping to get me to tell them how I feel. It's pretty much bologna. _

_When I wrote 'bologna' I had to sing the Oscar Meyer song. I've never had to spell bologna before. _

_Anyway._

_I'll just have to go talk to Mr. Hill myself. Ha, what would you do if I just randomly showed up in your classroom, walked up to Mr. Hill and was like "really, I'm not a freak! That girl in your classroom is telling lies about me! Fail her!" _

_Yeah. Be afraid. _

_Now, onto your responses to my oh-so-amazing questions. _

_I have no idea who Bayside are. I'll have to look them up. It's a complete and utter shock that you've never been out of the country, though I won't hold it against you. Wohoo for birthdays! It's awesome that yours is coming up. Now I can get you something. I love the glow-in-the-dark star things. It's a cool way to be afraid of the dark. I have no clue why I asked the bike question. Maybe a biker rode by when I was thinking of it… I like Harry Potter too, but not as much as Tom does. He's obsessed. Seriously, he'll go on forever about them. He calls it "a masterpiece." I love Christmas too, especially because of the long break I always get from work. I mean, I love McFly but it's great to have time off. BAD GIRL. Stealing is not good. And you did even worse then Marcella because you stole from a criminal. She'll set her psycho cousin on you. I think it's awesome that you play piano because I have no idea how to play so I sound like a four-year-old whenever I sit down in front of one. And I'm just as uncoordinated as you are. You'll never ever catch me in a game of football. Seriously._

_Sorry that my responses were so jumbled. I've been sick while replying… and I really did want to respond to everything. Blah I hate being sick!_

_I'm sorry if I gave you a weird signal by giving you my address on the back of a masseuse card. No, I don't offer massages, BUT I might if you ask nicely. Tom's told me that I'm pretty good with my hands. (Sorry for the joke… poor, poor, poorrrrr!) _

_And I'm glad that you're using my address now. I used to have to search through all the fan mail for your letters, and when I'd find them, I would have to wait until the guys were gone to read it… So yeah, I guess sending your letters to my place is just easier for everyone. _

_Ugh… this room doesn't even have a T.V. or anything to keep me entertained. I left my ipod back at my house, too. Gosh, how can people get better in places like this? I'll probably just end up going to an insane house. Boredom… _

_So I've got to go. Well… actually, I don't. What have I got to do anyway? I'm just worried that if I write to much it won't all fit in the envelope. I hope your Crème Brule worked out… it's one of my favorite desserts. I didn't know that it was hard to make, though. Maybe for that class you should just buy some and like… hide it under the table until you teacher leave, and then bring it up when class finishes. That would kind of be epic. _

_Talk to ya later, Riha!_

_-Dougie_

Dougie stared down at his letter as he finished writing and shook his wrist in small circles. All of those signings and autographs had paid off, seeing as his arm only hurt a little after all the writing. He wouldn't be surprised if he ended up causing serious damage to his wrist while in the hospital, as he could easily picture himself writing to her just to skip the boredom…

He suddenly remembered Saskia's words, shouting loudly in the completely silent room. Did he like Riha? Could he actually fall for someone he'd never met? Never even seen a picture of?

Maybe he was just scared to admit it. He loved talking with her, but what if in real life she wasn't what he thought she was? Would it be horrible of him to change his mind, just based on appearance?

Dougie's thoughts raced around his head, mashing into one another. He was so bored…

And so tired… so lazy… and so, so sick.

As he leaned over the basin one more time, he grabbed the envelope Tom had brought him. He slid his letter inside while scribbling Riha's name and school address on the front.

Dougie fell asleep with the both letters tucked safely between his hands as his thoughts turned into his dreams.


	10. Chapter 10

**Normally I hate doing this, but I've put quite a lot of myself into this chapter. You see, I have this band that I kind of love and I made Riha a fan. I usually hate doing that – making a character really into something that I like. It feels kind of fake for me, you know? But I had too!!! There's this scene that I've been thinking of for the future and it consisted of Riha being into a band. I didn't know who to choose because I don't know enough about any other band apart from McFly, the Wombats, Emery and Bayside to actually write a character into LOVING them. **

**Gahh. Long rant. But now you know, right??**

**Oh AND. I love your reviews guys, and to all you silent readers? I love you too, but if you speak up I'll love you more. And probably write more too. It's just nice to hear if people like your writing. =]**

***************

"Doug, just take it easy, all right? A car cash seriously wouldn't do you any good right now." Tom warned as Dougie donned his black windbreaker and rolled his eyes. He had been out of the hospital for an entire day, though he felt like he'd just been moved to prison. Tom was watching him like a hawk, barely letting Dougie lift a finger. Normally, it would've been a dream come true, but all Dougie really seemed to want to do was go outside. The sun had been out for a while, and who was he to pass up good weather?

"Tom, I'll be fine. I haven't gotten sick all day, and barely at all yesterday. The doctor says that it's passed through. I'm fine." Dougie grumbled, feeling like he was talking to his mother.

"I know but… you sure you don't want some company? I could reschedule with Gio in a second-"

"Tom, if you cancel on your girlfriend not only will I kill you, but she will too."

"Well said."

Dougie laughed briefly, unable to hide his amusement to his friend's serious face. "Well, I'm off. I'll call you later, okay? Maybe we could head over to the studio for a bit. I've been dying to play loud and obnoxious music for ages." Dougie smiled, hoping that his casual attitude would help his friend calm down.

"That sounds good. I'll see you later!" Tom called as the bassist exited his house.

Dougie wasn't quite sure where he wanted to go. All he had mentioned to Tom was that he was "going out." He didn't even have the excuse of dropping off a letter to Riha, seeing as Fletch had done the honors for him while he was in the hospital.

_"Doug, what's this on the floor?" Danny asked, bending over to pick up a familiar white envelope. Dougie was sure that the machine connected to his heart would erupt with beeps as his chest nearly exploded. In Danny's hands was the letter he had written to Riha that had apparently fallen out of his hands while he slept._

_"Oh that's mine. I must've dropped it by accident." Fletch quickly jumped in as he read the reaction on the young boys face. Dougie almost grinned in delight as Fletch saved his butt. The older man must've known realized Dougie's hesitation with telling his band mates._

_"Oh, here you go then." Danny handed it over without a second thought, causing Dougie's once panicked heart to slow to a nice, calm beat._

Danny had been so close to nearly having Dougie spilling his secret. How much longer could he go along, hiding something from his friends? He wasn't sure if he considered it to be _lying, _but he definitely wasn't telling the truth. How would they react?

Not that he cared, really. They could make fun of him all they wanted, and he'd still write to Riha. Maybe it was just easier to not tell them. The sneaking around part was actually pretty hard, but compared to the taunting he'd receive; it was probably the better choice.

But Dougie thought back to the words Fletch had whispered to him, once his friends had gone home from the hospital. The warning rang back and forth in his ears raging along with the straightforward advice of Fetch's words.

_"I think you should tell them, Dougie." Fletch stated after the door closed tightly behind Harry's retreating figure. Dougie's eyes ripped away from his departed band mates to his manager; shocked by what his ears were hearing._

_"Tell them?" Dougie asked, very aware of the subject to which Fletch was speaking. _

_"About Riha. It's such a big thing in your life now that it's almost like you don't trust them."_

_"I do trust them! They're my best friends." Dougie defended, trying not to take Fletch's words too offensively. _

_"I know you do. That's why it's so strange that you have this secret. They'd tell you in a heartbeat, and you know it." The wise look Fletch held had the familiar feeling of guilt wash through Dougie. He'd felt guilty quite a lot lately. _

_"It's different though. I wouldn't make fun of them or anything if they had a pen pal… it's just different." Dougie reasoned, trying to sound intelligent. His words didn't even make sense to him, though._

_"If you wouldn't make fun of them, how are you sure that wouldn't do the same for you?" The debate that Fletch fought almost annoyed Dougie. Wasn't he supposed to be resting? Wasn't he supposed to try his best to recover from nearly vomiting his entire body weight? _

_"It's not just that…" Dougie trailed off, frustrated. _

_"Then what is it?"_

_"Well… maybe I'm not sure how to bring it up. I can't just walk into the room and go 'hey guys, I've got a pen pal. Now how about we practice One For The Radio again?' It just wouldn't work like that, Fletch." Dougie countered, proud of his argument._

_"They've all asked you what's been going on a few times lately. You could've mentioned it then." He pointed out, smartly. _

_"The… the time just wasn't right, Fletch. I'll know when I can tell them, all right? I will tell them though. I promise."_

_"Good, Doug. Very good." _

Dougie flinched as he recalled his promise, regretting his words immediately. Why on earth had he promised that anyway? Did he just want to shut his manager up? There was no way he would break the promise… it would just disappoint Fletch.

_HONK! HONK!_

Dougie shook the thoughts out of his head as he realized he was sitting still at the green light. The cars behind him, angrily impatient, honked rapidly for his movement. Dougie scowled and took in his surroundings, hoping that some place would look interesting enough to go into.  
He realized that he had just ended up on one of the main street shopping centers. It wasn't anything flashy; just a strip mall. There were the basic clothing stores and food shops, but at the very end Dougie noticed a small record store.

He knew exactly where he was going.

As he pulled into the parking lot and locked up his car, he mentally ran through lists in his head of any albums he needed. Dougie had this problem whenever he walked into a C.D. store where he would instantly become overwhelmed by the amount of music in front of him. He'd formulated a way for himself to buy just the C.D.'s he needed without getting off track and buying something that just looked interesting. He'd lost so much money that way.

Dougie walked into the store determined, his mental list of about three bands repeating over and over inside his head. He refused to look at the shelves of C.D.'s for longer then the amount of time seriously nessicary. Browsing would do him no good.

First, he made his way over towards Blink-182. With their reunion, he would have to stock up on all their albums. In truth, he already owned most of their popular sales, but Dougie hoped to freshen his memory on their stuff earlier then Dude Ranch.

He allowed his eyes to travel over the alphabetized music, looking very directly for the letter B. It wasn't too hard to spot, and he sighed thankfully that B was only the second letter in the alphabet. He could've had a serious problem if he was looking for Z.

_B… Bad Religion… The Beatles… Bob Marley… oops, too far…Beastie Boys… Bayside… Ah Blink-_

Dougie's eyes snapped back to the last name that had registered in his mind. Bayside was a familiar title, and it took him a moment to place why. He picked the album up, hoping that maybe a song title would spark his memory, but he couldn't place how he knew the band.

The album was relatively cheap, most likely not a popular choice in the U.K. He could probably pick up the Bayside C.D. _and _Blink-182…

RIHA!

She had mentioned that Bayside was here favorite band! They were from America and had awesome… something! Dougie nearly threw his arms in the air and whooped as his memory came back to him. Bayside was Riha's favorite band.

Dougie held the plastic in his hands, refusing to put it back down in the mess of C.D.s in front of him. He didn't want to forget about it in the overwhelming wave of albums in the store. He would band his head on the wall later if he ended up leaving it.

He quickly flipped through the Blink-182 albums, choosing one of their first C.D.s. Dougie tried to quickly make his way over to the cashier so that he wouldn't get pressured into buying anything more. It was as though all his favorite music in the world called his name out loud whenever he stepped into the stores. He loved buying C.D.s, but the gaping hole it left in his wallet never felt very well.

Dougie's eyes didn't betray him as they led the way towards the young teenager behind the counter. Only a few more steps…

His eyes flickered for a second to his right, causing his stomach to flip. Don't look, Doug. You can do it!

He didn't notice any of the albums on his side, but instead, the headset that allowed you to preview any of the music you were interested in. Could Dougie risk a few more minutes in the store to at least _hear _what Bayside sounded like before he bought their music? Truthfully, he'd probably purchase the album anyway even if he didn't like the sound. It was like his addiction.

Dougie slid the barcode of the C.D. under the scanner as he placed the black headphones over his ears. He focused his eyes only on the mini LPD screen in front of him, refusing to meet the titles of any of the albums surrounding his body.

_Bayside – Shudder_

_Please select a track number_

On a whim, Dougie closed his eyes and pointed with his finger to a random song listed on the screen. He peeked a few seconds later after no sound came out of the headphones. The loading screen stared back at him as though taunting his weakness.

Suddenly, a random chunk of the song started, blasting what seemed like the chorus into his ears.

_Wicked are the ones who dare_

_To think outside the box_

_I guess it's righteous making money_

_In the name of God. _

_Think about what's right and wrong_

_The thin gray line we all live on_

_Oh, we'll sing out all the pain._

Dougie's head nodded appreciatively with the music, enjoying himself. They really weren't that bad at all, though they weren't exactly what he was expecting. Bayside sounded like a couple other bands out there, though their lyrics set them apart. He could understand someone really getting into them.

He hit next, shuffling to the next song.

_I turn this up as loud as it goes_

_And it ain't doin' much for the pain._

_It's up to me and the heart on my sleeve_

_That hasn't quite been the same._

Dougie pulled the headphones from his ears, content with what he'd heard. Picking up his original route to the cashier who was looking at him oddly, he smiled widely and bought the albums.

**********

"So the fresh air did you well, then? No more random puking episodes?" Harry asked as he and Dougie walked into their practice room. Dougie rolled his eyes at his friend while a small smirk covered his face. Harry had seen him get sick only once during his two days of puking, but it was enough for the drummer. His face would go a bit green whenever it was mentioned.

"I'm all good now, Haz. Don't worry, I won't be booting all over your kit." Dougie laughed as he set up his amp. Harry, frowning at Dougie's remark, marched grumpily over to his drums, seating himself haughtily behind them.

"Oh don't go and get your panties in a bunch. He's only making nasty jokes because he's getting better. It's like a natural thing; to be a bitch when you're recovering." Tom told Harry from across the room, laughing loudly.

"I'm not being a bitch!" Doug yelled back, not bothering to turn away from his amp as he argued.

"Well you're definitely not being a sweetheart." Danny laughed from his center spot, sitting contently on top of his amplifier.

"Speaking of sweethearts, you didn't do anything _too_ weird with Saskia, right? I just need to know if I can ever face her again without freaking out." Harry laughed at Danny, though his serious intention behind his words was evident.

"Don't worry. Nothing _too _weird, mate." Danny smiled, looking very please.

"God Danny…" Dougie rolled his eyes as he finished fiddling with the volume and balances.

"Know what Ms. Saskia told me though, guys?" Danny asked, looking slyly over at Dougie as he spoke.

"Do we really want to know, Dan?" Fletch's voice came in over the loud speaker from the other side of the glass. Four pairs of eyes automatically flashed his way, smiling in greeting as their manager arrived.

"You'll definitely be interested. My little lady friend told me that _Dougie _here found himself a bird." Accused Danny, pointing his index finger directly in Dougie's direction. The bassist's eyes widened as his respect for Saskia slipped a few notches. She spilled the beans on their conversation!

"No way, Doug!" Tom called, laughing happily. "How come you didn't tell us?"

"What's her name? Do I know her?" Harry added in, looking pleased.

"Is she why you've been acting so freaking ridiculous lately?" Danny finished for the three of them, all of their faces waiting for Dougie to fill their curiosity.

Dougie's eyes flashed quickly to Fletch's through the glass. This was what he'd been talking about, right? When he'd mentioned perfect opportunities to bring up Riha. He could just say it. _I have a pen pal. Her name is Riha. There could be a possibility that maybe I sort of fancy her a tiny bit. Maybe. _That was all he had to say…

"I-" Dougie began, choking on his words. "I… well, I mean-" His mouth was incapable of forming words.

"I brought you guys cookies from the bakery down the street!" Dougie head swiveled around to the door entering the studio to see Gio enter, holding a large white bag and smiling widely at Tom through the glass.

He'd lost his moment.

The guys stood up quickly and ran to Gio, taking the bag from her hand.

"Sweet! She got an _assortment_!" Danny's loud voice could be heard throughout the huge room. Dougie pulled his bass over his head and propped it on the stand before making his way over to his friends.

"Look Doug! She got you Pumpkin-Oatmeal! You like those, right? Oh and look! Gio brought you food for you house! Is it because you were sick? Damn, every time I puke she just tells me to get off her white carpet…" Danny laughed Dougie graciously accepted the cookie and the bag of food from Gio. It was clear that he wouldn't ever get a perfect opportunity to tell the truth like the one he'd just had.

Dougie spotted Fletch leaning off to the side, staring at him determinedly. It was hard for Dougie to avoid meeting his manager's eyes, but somehow he succeeded. He could already hear the lecture in his head anyway. Did he really need to hear it aloud?

"Dougie?" His head whipped up from his cookie and met Fletch's eyes, looking sympathetically down at him. Dougie hadn't noticed him move.

"I missed it…" Dougie mumbled, glancing over at his band mates quickly to make sure that they were absorbed in something distracting. Danny was picking the raisins out of his oatmeal while Harry picked them up and chucked them at Tom's head, who was kissing Gio kindly in the corner.

They weren't paying attention.

"I know… another opportunity will come." Fletch said reassuringly, patting Dougie's shoulder in support.

"Are you sure? This could be a sign of fate or something saying that they just shouldn't know. Or that maybe I'm supposed to stop writing her. Who knows…" Dougie trailed off, though he knew fully well that he wouldn't stop writing her just because _fate _wasn't pleased. That was ridiculous.

"You shouldn't stop writing…" Fletch said, his tone slightly confusing Dougie. It was as though there was a serious meaning behind his words, apart from just supporting Dougie. He sounded concerned.

"Why?" Dougie couldn't help but ask.

Fletch looked sad and thoughtful at the exact same time, causing Dougie's curiosity to spike. What was he thinking?

"I talked to Rebecca the other day…" Fletch began, looking at Dougie pointedly.

"Oh yeah. Riha says that she's really nice. In the popular crowed, though very nice." Dougie said, hoping that it would make Fletch happy to hear that his niece was well liked. He did smile fondly for a moment before the sullen look reappeared on his face.

"Rebecca says that Riha is very nice too, though she also said that she has very few friends." Fletch spoke quietly, though his casual stance made it seems as though he and Dougie were discussing the weather. Dougie, on the other hand, looked worried and confused. What was Fletch talking about?

"Huh?" Dougie asked, not sure what his manager meant.

"Rebecca told me that Riha only really hangs out with a few select students. It's gone down because she dumped that horrible boyfriend. Becca says he's horrible, too. None of the girls like him." Fletch went off, making Dougie quirk and eyebrow. It was as though he had gone into gossip mode. "Anyway, apparently the kids at school don't really… _get _her. You know how kids are, right? Things that are different kind of get to them, you know? Riha's one of those weird kids who sit in the back of the room but get perfect marks. One of those kids who don't care what they wear or how their hair looks or who's voted England's Sexiest Man. Rebecca's always felt kind of bad for her." Fletch looked apologetic as he spoke, shaking his head.

"But she's mentioned friends in her letters…" Dougie said, though as he thought about it, he really only recalled Marcella's name.

"Well, maybe they're just acquaintances. Rebecca assured me that it's the other kids who are being obnoxious. Not Riha." Fletch's concern made Dougie feel awkward. How was he supposed to react to this information? Sad? Outraged?

"Well… okay then." Dougie mumbled, not quite sure what to say.

"Just… okay then?" Fletch asked, confused.

"Um… yeah." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. Riha never mentioned a problem in her letters. She would've told him, right? She would've said something if her classmates were being right out snobs. Riha had voiced a few things sometimes about the kids, but Dougie thought that it was just normal. When he was in school, the kids were horrible to him too. Maybe he just didn't recognized what real classmates were supposed to be like.

"Okay then." Fletch spoke, sounding slightly unsure as he and Dougie moved away from one another. Dougie wished he could've known what his manager was thinking, just so he'd have some idea about how he was supposed to react. Fletch seemed to know what reaction he was looking for…

Dougie sighed and bit into his cookie again, trying to figure out why he didn't understand basic human reactions.


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapters important. Remember it forever. **

**AND. There's a part in Dougie's letter where he mentions a mean old lady. **

**That happened to me. I was coming home from Switzerland with my friend. We'd gone to boarding school and there was this evil old lady behind us. I never went back lol.**

**Enjoy! Review please. It's quite lovely. **

**Gah and Random n' Proud, I forgot to give you an amazing shout out in the last chapter's authors note. I think you deserve one =] **

****************

"Tom, why oh _why _are you waking me up at… fucking 4:15 in the morning?" Dougie mumbled angrily as he scrunched his eyes away from the bright light of his mobile phone. Late-night phone calls were common among the McFly boys, though Tom wasn't normally the drunken dialer.

_"Because we're outside your houuuuseeeee!" _Tom sang loudly, causing Dougie to rouse himself a bit more. He listened closer to the noises going on around him and he faintly heard the sounds of laughter emanating from his yard.

"You've got to be shitting me…"

_"Haha! 'Shitting'!"_

"Tom, go home. Sleep it off. Tell Gio you love her and that you're sorry for anything you've said tonight or that you will say later and then _go to bed_." Dougie instructed, pulling his blankets up around his body, hoping to cocoon himself away.

_"No can do, Dougie-o!"_

"Why not?"

_"Knock-knock!"_

**Knock-Knock**

Dougie lifted his head away from his phone and his welcoming pillow, and turned his ear in the direction of his front door.

**Knock-Knock**

"Not tonight…" Dougie mumbled to himself as he carelessly hung up his phone and stumbled in an extremely clumsy fashion towards his front door. Only his friends would call him in the middle of the night to hang out… and goddamn it, he would always answer for them.

"Douuuuggggg!" Danny bellowed happily as Dougie swung the door open and turned on the hall light. His three friends allowed themselves entry to the house, talking loudly and laughing.

"So Doug! We were like… all at Harry's place and then we were playing a _drinking game _and we were like 'hmm! I wonder what is missing?' and finally we decided that YOUUU were missing!" Danny laughed, most of his words jumping over one another. Dougie rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist a small smile. How could he not find them entertaining?

"So then Danny was like 'MATES! WE SHOULD GET DOUGLES!' and Harry and I were like 'TOTALLY!' so now we're here!" Tom explained, looking very serious.

"Did you guys bring any drinks?" Dougie asked, looking expectant.

The three of them exchanged glances, looking very shocked and apologetic.

"Damn it!" Harry yelled, looking upset. "We forgot them!"

Dougie sighed and led the way into his kitchen, opening his fridge for raiding. "Help yourselves my mooching friends." He motioned widely towards the open door, grabbing a beer for himself.

After a while they reconvened in Dougie's living room, playing their ordinary drinking games and watching movies (though really, none of them actually watched the screen. They just liked the lights and sounds playing throughout the room…)

"I never…" Harry began, looking coyly in Danny's direction while Batman chased after the Joker on Dougie's television. "… kissed on a roller coaster before." Harry declared proudly, and the guys laughed as Danny groaned again and took a long swig.

Their common game of I Never changed into a serious game of What Has Danny Done instead. The guitarist had gone through a large amount of Dougie's beer.

"All right, all right… my turn!" Danny laughed, causing the others to moan. Their Danny Game had to take a break. "I never…" Danny thought, "… hid a girl from you guys before." He said seriously, though smiling as he proudly said his I Never.

Dougie frowned, realizing that he had to drink. He was already slightly drunk, so he wasn't really worried about that. The time to tell the guys about Riha had finally come out again. Why had he been so worried earlier? Opportunities were around ever corner.

Dougie took a large sip of his beer while the others 'Oohed' while he drank.

"You've kept a girl from us, Dougie? You scared we'd steal her away?" Harry asked, light heartedly.

"No way!" The boy argued, aghast at the idea of one of his mates stealing his girl.

"Then who, man?" Tom asked, looking interested.

Dougie paused, knowing that somewhere in his brain there was information located telling him exactly why he wasn't supposed to speak. His slightly clouded thoughts refused to offer up the important reasons.

"You see… there's this girl, Riha." Dougie began, smiling widely as he finally told his friends his secret. "I've been writing to her for some weeks now. She's so awesome guys! You'd love her, I swear." Dougie promised, nodding his head knowingly.

"You've been writing her?" Danny asked, confused.

"Yeah. We're pen pals." Said Dougie, proudly.

"Pen pals? What're those?" asked Danny again.

"You write back and forth to one another a bunch of times. It's like text messages but way older." Harry informed them, sounding intelligent.

"Man, you've just been writing this girl? Riha's a cool name…" Tom trailed off, sounding distracted.

"It's short for _Ma_riah. I'm pretty sure it's pronounced RY-ah, though I've never met her, so I'm not sure." Dougie motioned with his hands as he talked, not sure how to describe it.

"You've never met her! Well when you do, tell her that Riha is so cool. Not as cool as Asshole Williams. Pronounced ASH-o-lee. How mean is that of her parents?" Danny laughed out loud, starting a brand new conversation.

They boys continued their late night (or early morning) by trading horrible names and jokes, laughing as Deuchon Mandich from Bam's T.V. show was brought up again and again. If there were a prize for the worst name ever, he'd definitely win.

"Doug… your foot's on my face…" Dougie felt someone slapping his leg and he groaned, opening his eyes and sitting up.

Harry, Tom, and Danny were all spread around his living room, having crashed in different areas when they'd fallen asleep.

Tom, the lucky one, managed to snag the couch and Dougie noticed that he had pinched the blanket from his bedroom. Why not make yourself at home, Tom?

Harry was lying close to the T.V., having given up on conversation after his ability to speak without slurring stopped him from talking. He'd chosen to watch The Dark Knight instead, while the guys had played In My Pants.

Danny and Dougie had some how ended up tangled together on the floor, using each other as a blanket. Dougie hit Danny and pulled away, angry that he'd ended up on the floor. His bed was just waiting for him in his bedroom…

Danny must've fallen back to sleep as Dougie stood up and stretch, noticing all his sore spots. It was all due to his choice in sleeping arrangements… he needed to stop drinking…

The familiar sound of Dougie's metal mailbox opening and closing with a painful creaking noise reminded him of what day it was. Riha's letter was due, right? Was it already time for the postman?

Dougie carefully maneuvered his way around his friends and silently walked into his front hall. The black mailbox hanging on his house just outside his door was full, practically spewing mail. The amount of bills that Dougie had to pay made the massive amounts of mail look intimidating, but he found that he was kind of used to it. He no longer got the fun feeling in his stomach when a letter came in the mail with his name typed across the front like he felt when he was little. Those naïve days were long gone, huh? The youthful joy in mail…

Holding the truckload of mail in his hands, Dougie walked back into his kitchen and set the letters on his island. He still had time to read her letter and reply before any of his band mates woke.

_Bill… bill… junk mail… junk… bill again… aha, Riha Anderson. _

Dougie proudly drew the letter from the others like he had done many times before. It was starting to feel almost like routine to him. Odd…

_Dougie!_

_You're sick? You're SICK? If I could send you a nice big bowl of chicken noodle soup right now, I would. And I never even buy that soup, so that's a super privilege right there. Broccoli and Cheese is totally the way to go, though not many doctors would agree with me. But hey, what do they know anyway? Seriously, if a pompous looking white man in a large white coat comes into your room asking questions, DO NOT ANSWER. It is a trap. Doctors are just a conspiracy. _

_Sorry if that freaked you out a bit, especially cause you're in the hospital and all… living with doctors…well, you need to know the truth, right?_

_It kind of sucks that the only reason you got food poisoning is because Harry set you up on a date. Did he even offer to reimburse you for the food? It sounds like he just wants to weasel you out of your money. Tsk-tsk. And it's absolutely hilarious that the girl ended up going out with Danny in the end. That's a story that you can tell your grandkids one day. "Hey Junior… want to hear about how Uncle Danny conceived one of your cousins with your could-have-been grandma?" Sounds like a real Christmas Party hit. _

_Speaking of family parties, you know how you said you hate it when people feel like they HAVE to say something about your dad? Well, I had to go visit my Nan for her birthday a few days ago. I kind of hate visiting my Nan. She's such an old hag who really doesn't care about Alicia or me. I really think she hated my mum but every time I go over to my Nan's, she spends the first ten or fifteen minutes telling us how 'Proud our mum would be of us' and I know that it's all B.S! She's only saying it because she feels like she has to. She isn't actually sorry and it would probably be easier if she just wouldn't mention anything. It was nearly seven years ago. Alicia doesn't remember her at all so really, my Nan just hurts my dad and I whenever she brings it up. Stupid old people._

_And know what she used to tell me to do whenever MY stomach hurt? She'd tell me to drink a glass of cold milk. Seriously, does that EVER sound appetizing to you when you're sick? Milk? God, just thinking about it makes me want to puke. Turns out that I was lactose intolerant and I found out at my little old grannies house. She almost made me drink the whole jug before taking me into the doctors. _

_ANYWAY._

_I had to spell out bologna too. Just to make sure you spelled it right. "B-O-LO-G-N-A." Good job, Dougie. You get a star. _

_Do you know that Mr. Hill gives out stars? Like seriously. Whenever we write a really nice paper or whenever we're respectful he adds it to our "Good Heart Stars." It's ridiculous. _

_I mean, just because you could kill my total of 10 stars by coming into my school and telling Mr. Hill to fail me doesn't mean anything. At all. I couldn't care less about those stupid stars! Ha Mr. Poynter!_

_Except seriously? Don't come in a do that. Mr. Hill has no sense of humor. He would fail me in a second. _

_I nearly wanted to tell him just how horrible you are at paragraphing. Seriously, your response to my answers? I laughed for nearly five minutes. Marcella almost slapped me. Dude, it's like a page long of just jumbled sentences! I'm not making fun of you, I swear. It just… made me laugh._

_Hard._

_Anyway. _

_Because your hospital room didn't have anything entertaining, I have a riddle for you, Mr. Poynter._

_"I'm seen by almost everyone without anyone noticing, for what is beyond is what he or she seeks." _

_It's a bit tricky, huh? My sister told it to me. When you get the answer you're like 'OHHH!!!' It's kind of cool._

_You know it yet?_

_Or now?_

_Still pondering?_

_All right, I'll give you till your next letter to think that over. _

_Talk to you later, Doug!_

_-Riha (Eff Mr. Hill. He can put in his own stinking 'sincerely' he if has to!)_

Dougie set the paper down and furrowed his eye brows. He could barely _understand _the riddle, let alone know the answer to it.

He meandered around his kitchen, grabbing a pen and paper as well as a painkiller and a glass of water. He still had quite a lot of time before his friends would awake from their drunken slumbers. It was only ten in the morning.

What had they been thinking, waking him up at four in the morning? Obviously they weren't thinking too much at all. He didn't even really mind… but seriously? _Four_?

_Hey Riha, _

_I'm actually out of the hospital now. I've been free for just over one whole day. I'm so proud. People tend to overlook the amazing feeling of being normal. No puking… ah, it's just wonderful. I'll appreciate it for the rest of my life._

_Nah, actually. I'll probably only notice till the end of today. Tomorrow I'll go back to shoving food down my throat. _

_And it's a bit too late about the Doctor Conspiracy thing. My doctor, Dr. Brunswick I think, was exactly like the guy you described. Very posh and full of himself, you know? He had the white coat and everything! Though I think all doctors have to wear them. I don't know why. It's just intimidating. _

_And thank you for the could-be chicken noodle soup. It's the thought that counts, really. I wouldn't have been able to keep it down anyway. So it's better to just have pretended soup anyway. _

_But I beg to differ on the broccoli and cheese thing. Seriously? Chicken Noodle could kick your broccoli's butt. Even Tomato soup can't compare. _

_It's you vegetarians. Did I tell you that the girl I went out with because Harry made me was a vegetarian? She didn't even get sick and the stupid food poisoning was in the vegetables! How unlucky am I? _

_Oh! Annnndd! The girl told Danny a super secret that I thought would just remain between me and her! But noo! She had to go rat me out to the Dan Man. He's probably forgotten all about it though. He got very, very drunk last night. I'll be surprised if he remembers anything. _

Dougie's stomach suddenly lurched as he wrote, his memory coming back to him.

_"You see… there's this girl, Riha." Dougie began, smiling widely as he finally told his friends his secret. "I've been writing to her for some weeks now. She's so awesome guys! You'd love her, I swear." Dougie promised, nodding his head knowingly._

_"You've been writing her?" Danny asked, confused._

_"Yeah. We're pen pals." Said Dougie, proudly._

Did he seriously confess _everything _to his mates? None of them had even questioned the fact that he was writing her. They had just accepted it…

But they also had serious amounts of alcohol in their systems. What had he been thinking? If they woke up and found him writing her…!

He didn't want to stop writing her, though. Fletch's words echoed in his head once again. _She has few friends…_Dougie was her friend. He needed to act like it.

Could he bring up that small fact? Ask her why her classmates treated her the way that they did? Or would that be too personal?

No… not too personal. Too… awkward. Too embarrassing. She could tell him if she felt the need to.

_No offence, but your Nan sounds like an old bitch. I mean I'm sure you love her a tiny bit because without her, where would you be? But she should know better then to say things like that. I hate immature old woman. And that old 'milk' trick sounds disgusting. I am so, so, sorry you had to go through that. God just thinking about it DOES make me want to puke! AGAIN! Stupid old women. _

_Oh! Like when the guys and I flew over to Canada to film our One For The Radio video, we flew economy so we were surrounded by old people and crying babies. I had to get up to let Danny out to the bathroom and the woman sitting behind me reached up and SMACKED MY BUM!_

_Like seriously, SMACK!_

_I turned around, stunned. I just stared at her, not sure what to say. And then she was like "Watch where you're going!" and I was like "Sorry!" and then she said "Yeah, right. Sorry." _

_The NERVE of some old ladies. I wanted to call her out but I didn't. She was like, eighty years old and probably just frustrated with the closed quarters. And the crying babies. They were annoying. _

_I just reread that part, and I know you're going to make fun of me for my paragraphing. Would it make a difference if I said that I just did all of those for emphasis? I know that it's a bit over the top, but… whatever._

_Tell Mr. Hill! See if I care! He already hates me enough anyway! Gosh, one day he's just going to tell you to switch pen pals. Maybe he'll make you switch with Marcella. That would be quite hysterical. _

_I also just reread your riddle. Jesus Christ, is that even normal English? "I'm seen by almost everyone without anyone noticing, for what is beyond is what he or she seeks." I have NO idea what the answer could be. Maybe… pubic hair or something? _

_I am SO SORRY. That was a horrible joke. I apologize. I should go back and erase it but I'm writing in pen. I should scribble it out… but then you'd just look closer to see what I had normally written and then it would just be WORSE. _

_I am so sorry. _

_I'm going to go wash my mouth out with soap. _

_BYE!_

_-Dougie_

He laughed as he sealed up the letter, feeling embarrassed. Hopefully she didn't share her letters with too many people. Especially with her teacher. God, that would end everything, wouldn't it?

In big, bold letters, he wrote her name and his return address. The guys were still sound asleep, and if he got it to her school in time, she could read it that same day.

He hurried to his car and started driving towards her school. True, he was only in his pajamas, but who would notice? Everyone was in school.

As he pulled up to the same curb he had a few weeks prior, he assessed his surroundings. There were absolutely no students or teachers, and no pedestrians walking their dogs or jogging.

There was one boy off to the side of the school, cigarette in his mouth and his hood up over his head. Dougie remembered the days of sneaking out of school for a smoke… school was long gone for him, huh?

He got out of his car and dropped the letter in the box, nodding to the boy before jogging back to his car. The kid looked at him a bit surprised before going back to his business. Dougie smiled and pulled away from the school. Time to go wake up his hung over friends.


	12. Chapter 12

**The chapters are about to get kind of shorter, but that's okay because**

**I'M SO HAPPY WITH THEM! The story is actually finished, I just have to upload them all lol. Gosh, it's like my baby's all grown up =']**

**BUT. Just because the story is actually finished doesn't mean I still don't want reviews. I mean… they give me a reason to post! **

**So… random n' proud and RockChick182101… you guys win for awesomely reviewing just about every time. If I could give you hugs I would. =]**

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"What time are we going to get home today, Fletch?" Dougie asked impatiently as they made their way through the crowds of fans. The manager turned to look at Dougie warningly, daring him to test his temper.

"Doug, this is a treat. Not a work thing. Why on earth are you complaining?" He asked sounding annoyed.

"Who said I was complaining?" Replied Dougie, folding his arms and looking away. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he really wasn't feeling the concert vibe. It wasn't even a _McFly _concert that Fletch had dragged them to. It was some new band that their old record company had signed. They'd given the boys free tickets basically to shove in their faces that they could sign a new McFly.

Yeah right.

McFly really had left the company on good terms, but that's not to say that some feelings may not have been hurt. It's like… when you're sixteen years old and you allowed to leave school but you don't because you know it's good for you to stay. Then there are those kids who _do _leave, and some of the teachers may take offence.

Dougie's brain hurt from his horrible similes. Song writing was definitely Tom's area.

Fletch sighed and pulled Dougie away from the guys who were still forcing their way through the crowd. Did they really need to be up front? You could hear just fine from the back.

"Doug, I know that Riha's letter is due today but you're just going to have to enjoy yourself for a moment. It'll still be there when you get back." Fletch spoke softly with a small knowing smile on his face.

"But…" Dougie trailed off, not sure how to finish his excuse. Maybe he was just being impatient and annoying. Riha's letter wasn't going anywhere.

"Enjoy, Doug."

They made their way towards the other three, situated literally in front of the stage. Men wearing big yellow t-shirts stood before them, ready to catch any crowd surfers.

"Let's get this party started!" The lead singer yelled, causing the crowd to erupt in screams. Dougie rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. Newbies….

"I'm proud to let those guys take our place. That was great!" Tom smiled happily as Fletch drove them home. The boys were covered in sweat (and not only their own) from the massive crowd that the new band had pulled together. Dougie hadn't paid close enough attention to remember their name, though he did like their sound.

"I agree. Ha! When their fat guitarist jumped off the stage and practically landed on you, Dan? Funnies shit I've ever seen, right there!" Harry laughed loudly as the others made fun of Danny.

"Oh god, I won't be able to get his smell off me for ages!" Danny laughed as well, sniffing his shirt for emphasis. "Pew!" He waved his hand in front of his nose.

"No, no! I liked it when the drummer threw his sticks out in the end. That one that bounced off Dougie's head?" Fletch laughed, glancing at them through the rear-view mirror.

"No way! Those three hot chicks jumped on me right afterwards, trying to get it! I can easily proclaim that girls have screamed for my stick now!" Dougie laughed, causing his friends to smack him upside the head.

"Doug, it wasn't even _your _stick." Harry contradicted, laughing.

"But the guy gave it to me. Therefore, it was mine!"

"A _dude _gave you his _stick_and then the girls wanted it? Mate, you're not helping yourself here." Laughed Danny as he pulled the bassist into a headlock.

"Ahh! I give up!" Dougie yelled, fighting his way out.

"Give up what? Danny owning you or the fact that those three girls definitely didn't want your stick?" Harry asked, leaning over the middle seat to look Dougie in the eyes.

"I don't know! Both!" He laughed, causing the rest of the car to burst out laughing as well.

Times like these made Dougie the most proud man on earth. He was proud to be in McFly, proud of his friends, completely grateful that for some reason they _were _his friends, and so glad that it would never end.

It would take four bulldozers, an apocalypse, _and _a worldwide food shortage for McFly to ever end. The thought made Dougie want to laugh and smile and kiss something all at the same time.

"We've reached Sir Judd's humble abode. Who will be exiting at this time?" Fletch asked from the front as the automatic door opened.

"Just Sir Judd. I need to hit the sack, I'm beat." Harry replied as he jumped out of the van. "See you guys tomorrow!" He called over his shoulder, waving. They pulled away and dove towards Tom and Gio's house, dropping him off for some quality time with his girlfriend.

"Doug, you mind if I chill at yours for a bit? I've got nothing to do." Danny asked, looking hopeful.

"Yeah, no problem, mate. You coming in, Fletch?" Dougie asked as they pulled up to Dougie's home.

"I can't. Margaret made her special spaghetti sauce tonight. I'm speeding home for some of that stuff." Fletch said seriously, referring to his wives amazing secret sauce.

"Snag me some, will you?" Dougie called back as he and Danny jumped out of the van.

"Will do, Doug. If I don't eat it all myself!" Fletch laughed as he pulled away, leaving Danny and Dougie to themselves.

Inside the house Dougie cracked open a few beers while Danny ran to the living room. They talked about the gig for a while and how they wanted to improve their own performance before Dougie realized he'd forgotten about Riha's letter.

"Oh, I'll be right back. I forgot to grab my mail." Dougie excused himself as he left the room and opened his mailbox. He grabbed the handful of mail and made his way into his kitchen, hoping to catch Riha's letter on top. No such luck.

_And… bill… junk… Easter card… bill… bill… _

Dougie stared down, confused. He had looked through all the letters without seeing Riha's return address. Maybe he'd just missed it.

_Bill… junk… Easter card… bill… bill…_

Again, Dougie stared at the wood of his countertop with no letter from his pen pal in sight.

Something was wrong.

Why hadn't she sent her letter on time, like she normally did? It was really unlike her to miss the date. Didn't she know just how much Dougie lived for her letters? They were like his air. It was so abnormal for them not to be there.

He'd kept every single letter she'd sent him. They were in a box in his closet, dated and everything. How could her letter be late?

Dougie felt his feet slowly lead him back to where Danny was sitting. His friend continued their previous conversation, but Dougie couldn't focus. Where was her letter?

"Doug, are you okay? You're acting like you've seen a ghost." Danny snapped his fingers in front of Dougie's face, looking worried. "You feel sick again?"

"No… not sick." Dougie mumbled, reaching for his beer on the table. He needed to get his act together and fast. He couldn't freak out in front of Danny. He'd been lucky enough so far that the guys had completely forgotten about his drunken confession.

He needed a moment.

"Dougie?" Danny asked as his friend stood up and headed to the bathroom. Inside, he ran the water and washed his face. He brushed his teeth and even flossed, hoping to organize his thoughts before he went back out to his friend.

"You okay, mate?" Danny asked through the door after several minutes. Dougie was debating on whether or not he should shave to give himself more time. He might as well take a full shower.

"Um… I think my stomach hurts again?" Dougie responded, though it sounded more like a question.

"Seriously? But the doctor says that you really should be fine by now. We should head back in and-"

"No, no. I think I'll just take a shower… maybe the heat will help." Dougie replied, trying to stay in charge.

"You sure?" Danny asked sounding confused.

"Totally. I'll be out in a bit." Dougie answered as he turned on the hot water. It took the normal time to heat up and by then he was already undressed. He hopped in and shivered as the hot water hit him.

The shower was always the best place to think things through. Sure, it was probably the _worst _place according to the environment and all of the eco-friendly people, but where else were you completely alone with your own thoughts?

Dougie tried to calm himself down just by reassuring himself that the reason why her letter was late was _just _because she'd had too much other schoolwork to do. Obviously her normal homework was more important and Dougie's letter could've easily waited another day for her.

He wished he'd had her phone number or something, just to double-check his guess. With his luck and her luck combined she was probably dangling over a pot of radioactive acid, waiting for super man to come and save her.

He had to pause while shampooing his hair just to start the entire calming process over again.

Dougie stayed in the shower for a good fifteen minutes before shutting of the dials and hopping out. He dried himself off with his towel and changed back into the clothes he was wearing before.

"How do you feel?" Danny asked the moment Dougie reentered the living room. Dougie had almost forgotten that his friend was there, expecting that he'd gone home.

"Oh, um, much better now. The shower really helped." Dougie replied, remaining cool. Danny nodded his head, though the concerned look on his face didn't go away.

"Maybe you should go into the doctors just in case, you know? If Dr. What's-his-name said it was supposed to be gone by now then maybe you have something else." The worried expression in his friend's eyes caused Dougie to feel guilty once again.

"Don't worry yourself, Dan. I'm all good. I think that it was just all the jumping around from the concert." Dougie said, patting his tummy for emphasis. "No puke coming from here."

"Good man, because I thought we were going to have to do that all over again and let me tell you, your puke is some of the worst smelling shit that I've-" Danny laughed but was suddenly cut off by a repetitive knocking on Dougie's front door.

"Who's-?" Dougie began, but the knocking just grew louder and more pronounced.

Dougie jumped up from his couch, confused. He nearly sprinted to the door and threw it open before even checking the peephole. Who would be _knocking _on his door? Let alone so loudly? Had he left it locked by accident?

He swung the door open and stood in his place, confused.

Before him was a girl - a teenage girl. She had black raven hair cascading down her back almost all the way to her hips, making her pale skin glow nearly white. Dougie's eyes grazed over her face, trying to recall some kind of recognition. Her eyes looked him over as well, sizing him up with their gray irises.

Her clothes confused Dougie further. Whenever a fan would turn up around his house, they were normally barely dressed. Their clothes would be too tight and their skirts would be too high. This girl, her plain black shirt hugged her body nicely, though it left a lot to the mind's imagination. And then Her sweatpants were slightly too long, dragging a bit behind her on the ground and underneath her normal black converses.

And then Dougie noticed the little girl beside her.

The younger one appeared to be half the older one's age. She had short black hair, curling around her face and showing her youth. The small girl had on a Walt Disney sweatshirt and jeans, which were slightly covered in dirt. The two girls were drenched because of the pouring rain outside.

They both had on small backpacks.

"Riha." Dougie stated, finally as he realized just who the unknown girl was.


	13. Chapter 13

**SO! Hehe… Sorry if I left you guys with a cliffy! Did I forget to mention that I'd be updating daily for the next… three days or so? I think that's how many chapters are left now… or maybe just two? I don't know. =]**

**ENJOY!**

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"Hey Dougie…" Riha's voice sounded much higher and clearer then Dougie had pictured it. Her pale pink lips spoke fluently and shyly, smiling up at him in an embarrassed way as though she was ashamed.

"Who's at the door, Doug?" He came back to earth once he heard Danny call from behind him. Glancing back at Riha and her sister, he opened the door wider for them to step in.

"I'm sorry if we came at a bad time but…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced down at Alicia regretfully. She didn't want to speak in front of her sister.

"It's completely fine. Here, follow me." Dougie led them in to his living room where Danny sat, looking curious. In his mind, Dougie tried to focus on reality. Was it actually possible that Riha was in his house? Was her little sister, Alicia, walking quickly behind Dougie while grasping onto Riha's hand?

"Danny this is my friend Riha and her sister Alicia. Girls this is Danny." He motioned as they entered the living room, getting the introductions out of the way. Danny's look of confusion remained evident on his face as he glanced between Dougie and Riha. It seemed as though he was calculating something.

"So _this_ is what you've been hiding all this time! Or, well, _who._" Danny smirked, realization dawning upon his face. Dougie's eyes widened in shock as his friend, Danny The Not So Intelligent Jones, pasted his secret together. He must've been dreaming… there was no way everything was real.

"Um… Danny… would you take Alicia to see Zukie for a moment? I just need to talk to Riha for a second." Dougie smiled down at the little girl who shyly smiled back up. She was definitely one of the cutest little kids Dougie had ever seen.

"Sure, no problem! Alicia, do you like lizards?" Danny asked as he stood up and led the little girl away. She glanced over her shoulder at Riha really quickly who nodded her head and smiled before Alicia continued to follow Danny into Dougie's bedroom. Sister language.

"I am so sorry to have just turned up like this." Riha immediately apologized as soon as her sister was out of earshot. Dougie sat on the couch and Riha mimicked his movements, sitting comfortably on the opposite end of the three-seater.

"It's fine. What's going on?" Dougie asked, concerned.

It surprised him just a little bit with how normal he was taking the situation. Not even ten minutes ago he was freaking out just _thinking _Riha's name, yet here she sat. In his living room. With him. _Real_…. Not possible.

Riha glanced over at him briefly, as though she was deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. Dougie had to admit it hurt just a bit.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." He mumbled, not meeting her eyes.

"No… it's just…" She trailed off, looking away as well. Her eyes scanned his house as though taking in all his different knick-knacks. It was like she was eyeing everything that made him _Dougie_. Would it be weird if he felt a bit self-conscious? His house wasn't really ready for guests…

"What?" He asked, hoping to get her to speak again or to just distract her from examining his house any further.

"Just… after I tell you… please don't throw us out. Just… give me some time to find a new place… to call around, okay? We just needed somewhere temporary-" Dougie cut her off, extremely confused.

"I'm not going to throw you out." He stated, hoping that she understood. No matter what she told him, he wouldn't throw her out. It must've sounded crazy, though. Riha had just turned up dirty and cold on his doorstep with her little sister and _backpacks _in toe. There had to be something suspicious going on…

"We'll see…" She trailed off, looking as though she was going to cry. He didn't know how to respond whenever girls cried. Was he supposed to hug her or something? But what if she didn't want to be hugged? Or what if she just didn't want to be hugged _by him_? That would really ruin everything wouldn't it?

Suddenly, she took a deep breath and the tears that Dougie had thought were about to fall disappeared, saving him completely from his internal debate.

"Three days ago… last Friday… Aaron came back to school." Riha began, glancing up at Dougie quickly to gauge his reaction. He listened intently, hoping that no emotion showed on his face as she spoke Aaron's name. He wanted her to go on even though just the sound of the freak's name made him shiver.

"And?" Dougie urged, bringing his feet up onto the sofa and turning his entire body to face her.

"They thought that if they gradually brought him back into school, things would be okay. They didn't like the thought of having to rearrange schedules and stuff… they just thought that if he came into school for a few days and then left that everything would be fine." She continued, staring down at her hands, twisted in her lap.

"They? You mean _your school_ didn't change your schedules?" Dougie asked, almost disgusted.

"No… well… so Friday afternoon, I went home and started dinner like normal. Then I went to pick Ali up from school…" She trailed off, still not looking over at Dougie. "Aaron must've followed me all day. When I got back to my house… there he was just sitting at out kitchen table with a knife in his hands." Riha took another deep determined breath, letting the air out steadily.

"Did he hurt you?" Dougie asked, looking her body over more carefully. He could see the dirt on her face but her clothes covered up any normally exposed skin. He wouldn't know by just looking at her.

"Not then… no. He told me that he'd kill himself if I didn't go with him. He said that if I didn't just hear him out, he'd be on my kitchen floor, dead." She paused, glaring into the air as her memory continued. "So I followed him out to his truck. I was so stupid, Doug. Why would I follow him? I should've just let him kill himself… but I couldn't." She paused, thinking. Dougie let her be for a moment, letting her pick back up in her own time. "Once we got to his truck, he hit me in the back of the head with something and I blacked out. I woke up later with Alicia beside me, crying her eyes out. We were both in his truck bed with the cover put on top while he drove down the highway heading north." She stated, pulling nervously on her shirt.

"This happened Friday?" Dougie asked, shocked.

"Yeah… well… yeah. After he knocked me out apparently he went back inside for Alicia. He didn't hurt her, or so she says, but for some reason he decided to bring her too. Maybe because she witness him or something?" Riha seemed to be talking to herself, and Dougie decided that it was better if he didn't interrupt again. Her train of thought was moving quickly. "For the past two days he kept us up in this little abandoned cottage. Ali and I were in separate rooms, and Aaron stayed with me most of the time, so I know he didn't really hurt her. But… god Dougie, it was horrible." She stated, glancing at him quickly before looking away again. "All I remember thinking was 'let me live through this so I can get her out…'" Her voice trailed off as she glanced out the dark window.

"Where's your father?" Dougie asked confused as to how he couldn't have put out a missing children's report.

"Aaron… well one of Aaron's friends gave my dad a phony job. He said that he'd pay him 500 pounds to drive his car way up north where the guy had supposedly moved to because he was going to take a plane there. My dad was going to take a train back…" She tore her eyes away from the window and looked directly over at Dougie, shocking him slightly. "When Aaron left to go get more food, I got out and found Alicia. We ran towards the nearest town and took a taxi back here." Her determined words confused him. Dougie didn't understand what they were supposed to mean. "Aaron is still looking for us, Doug. He'll do everything he can to find us. To find me." She stated more clearly, the true meaning of her words floating into Dougie's head.

So it was dangerous for him to keep them in his house. Aaron was still on the loose and Dougie had exactly what the psycho wanted.

"I'm not kicking you out." Dougie stated again, smiling over at her slightly. Her shoulders relaxed and her eyes closed, grateful.

"We're not asking to stay for too long anyway. Just maybe the night… I called the police when we got the taxi, but they said that there isn't much that they can do until they have a location on Aaron. They're watching my house right now but the woman didn't sound very sure on the phone. Doug, I've read police reports before. The guy _always _gets into the house. I can't have Ali there! He could get in again!" Riha started to grow more anxious as she spoke, though her voice never rose above normal speaking volume. She wouldn't risk Alicia knowing all her worries.

"Riha, you can stay as long as you need to. I have nothing to do tomorrow anyway. I still think the police need to get their act together, though." Dougie stated, a little angry. "Have you got in touch with your father?"

"No… he doesn't have a cell phone. There's no way for me to call him until he gets home, which should be some time tomorrow." She replied, sighing heavily.

They both sat in silence for a moment, allowing Riha's story to wash through Dougie's mind. She had been in so much trouble and he'd had fun going to a concert and doing other McFly things. But how was he to have known? Their only means of communication had been through pen pal letters. There was nothing he could've done, right?

"Riha?" Dougie asked quietly, a sudden confusion forcing him to speak.

"Hm?" She replied, looking over at him curiously.

"Why… why did you decide to come here? To my place?" He asked, hoping that his words wouldn't some how offend her. Girls were weird like that… right?

Her eyes fixed on his for a moment, though he couldn't detect any anger in them. He actually noticed that the color of her eyes was quite pretty. It was a light gray color – almost blue, but not quite. It was nice and subtle, suiting her perfectly.

Dougie almost forgot that he was waiting for an answer as her eyes held his.

"I don't really know. I guess I just… thought of your address when the taxi driver asked me where to go…" She looked down at her lap, almost ashamed. "Marcella doesn't really know the situation… You know more then anyone I've told… And Aaron doesn't know you or where you live. I figured it was safest." Dougie agreed with her decision.

"It is safe here." He voiced, looking around his home fondly. He'd never felt any danger in his house.

"Dougie, I really like Zukie!" Both Riha and Dougie looked up at the same time as Alicia ran from Danny back out into the living room. Zukie, Dougie's beloved bearded dragon perched happily on her shoulder.

"Ali! Don't run with him! Did you ask if you could hold him?" Riha scolded as she hopped off the sofa and Danny casually strolled out of Dougie's room.

"It's fine." Both he and Dougie said at the same time. Dougie glanced over at his friend and rolled his eyes, smiling. Danny _would _act like he owned everything, wouldn't he?

"Riha, did you know that Zukie's going to get this big!" Alicia held out her hands dramatically just before carefully placing one back on Zukie, steadying him on her small shoulder. "Dougie had another big lizard one time, but he died." She looked sad, petting the bearded dragon.

"I'm sorry," Riha told him, her eyes showing her sorrow at the news.

"It's fine. It was awhile ago." Dougie mumbled, remembering his other lizard.

"Sorry I mentioned it, mate." Danny laughed a bit, causing Dougie to roll his eyes again.

"It's fine. Hey Ali, you hungry?" Dougie asked, realizing just how hungry the two girls must've been.

"Yes! Thirsty too!" She piped up, glancing over at Riha for permission. Her older sisters eyes widened as her hand went to her stomach subconsciously. Food must've not been on her priority list.

"Let's go look in my kitchen to see if we have any good food. Danny likes those little macaroni noodles that look like Sponge Bob. Do you like him?" Dougie asked as he took the lizard off her shoulder and led the way into the kitchen.

After a very long talk of Nickelodeon cartoons, the macaroni was heated up for Danny and the little girl.

"Make sure you wash your hands. Lizards can make you sick sometimes." Riha warned Alicia before she began eating. Dougie heard cute little mumbles as she leaned her arms over the sink and rinsed her hands quickly.

"What about you? What do you want?" Dougie asked Riha before she could scold her younger sister.

"Me?" She asked, looking confused. "No, I'm fine."

"Riha, please, do not B.S. the Dougster." Dougie said seriously. "You must be hungry." He opened his arms wide, inviting her to his kitchen.

As she made herself a bowl of macaroni, Dougie silently studied her. This was the girl that he had hidden from his best friends. The girl who he'd _loved _writing to and reading about. She was like a fictional character come to life. There was no way that it was real.

"Doug, stop staring. You're making _me _blush." Danny laughed from his seat beside Ali, leaning over to giggle with her quietly at his joke. The little girl hid her smile behind her hand, looking over at Dougie with large knowing eyes. How old was she? Seven?

Dougie glared over at Danny. He did _not _just say that.

"You better be quiet, Dan or I'll send you packing." Dougie laughed, though he knew it wasn't true.

The way Danny was getting along with Alicia was perfect. It gave Dougie more time to talk to Riha, not that he didn't want Ali there or anything. He understood that it was harder to talk about heavy things with little ears in the room.

Dougie turned his attention back to Riha who had spun around and eye him suspiciously. He looked back up at her, hoping his innocent expression would get him out of trouble.

"Doug, that look never works." Danny warned without even glancing away from Alicia as he laughed at his best friend.

"What look?" Dougie hoped the innocent act would work too.

"Might as well stop now, mate." His friend laughed as he carried his and Alicia's bowls to the sink. "You want to go play Dougie's Xbox? He has it set up in his room. He might actually have some fun games." Danny suggested to the little girl who looked over at her sister excitedly.

"Go ahead. Kick his butt." Riha smiled as Ali whooped triumphantly. Danny laughed loudly, leading the girl back into Dougie's room.

"Come sit with me," Dougie spoke as he led Riha back to the living room. His request was almost like a question, letting her know that she could refuse and decided to go play games with Danny and Alicia if she felt more comfortable that way. Dougie's heart almost filled with joy as she smiled and followed him into the living room.


	14. Chapter 14

**HELLO!!!!!!! **

**Next chapter, the one I'm posting tomorrow, will be the LAST. **

**I am actually amazingly proud of this story. SIGH. **

**And those of you who AWESOMELY reviewed last chapter?**

**I. Love. You.**

**=]**

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Dougie took his seat leaning against the left arm of his couch, bringing his feet up to rest lethargically in front of him. Riha stood for a moment, glancing around at the different chairs throughout the room. After a silent moment, she mocked Dougie's position by leaning her back against the right armrest and tucking her shoes up underneath her legs.

"Do you mind if I take a look at your head?" Dougie asked after a moment, leaning towards her.

"My head?"

"Where Aaron hit you?" He checked, looking at her carefully. Her eyes met his momentarily before she repositioned herself so that the back of her head faced Dougie. He knelt in front of her on the couch and pusher her long, thick raven-colored hair over her shoulder.

"Sorry…" She mumbled, fisting it tighter into one of her hands. Dougie paid no attention to her apology and began looking over the back of her head.

"Where did he hit you? You've got so much dark hair I can't see anything." He laughed a bit as she let go of her handful and ran her fingers through the back.

"I think it was just about… ouch. Here." Her hand hovered above one certain spot on the back of her head. It was right where the base of her skull met her neck, a seemingly important part of the head in Dougie's opinion.

"I'm not a doctor but I'm pretty sure that this isn't a good place to get hit…" Dougie mumbled as he touched it lightly with his fingers. With all her hair it was hard to see anything serious, but as he felt the area he could definitely sense a very large bump.

"Ow… um, yeah. That hurt." She laughed lightly, pulling away.

"My bad…" Dougie apologized, moving back. "I don't think I felt any dry blood or anything. Just a really big bump."

"Yeah, and if you chop off my hair I bet that there's a pretty big bruise too." She finished, turning around to face him.

"I'm surprised that the police didn't take you in for questioning or anything, even after you called them. I'm glad that you came here though." Dougie added as her expression winced.

"Dougie…" She trailed off, looking apologetic.

"What?"

"I didn't call the police…" Riha trailed off, not meeting his gaze. Dougie paused for a moment, registering her words. She hadn't called the police?

"Um… why not?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Riha paused as she looked around the room again. Dougie watched as she absentmindedly pulled a chunk of her hair away from the rest and began braiding it. It was almost second nature to her.

"When Aaron had me in that shack he told me that the only reason he'd taken me away was because I ratted on him in the first place…" She spoke quickly, refusing to meet Dougie's gaze.

It was _Dougie's _fault.

"Oh god…" Dougie mumbled, massaging his temples. If he hadn't pressured her so much into telling someone about her psychotic ex-boyfriend, she wouldn't have ended up like this in the first place. "Riha, I am so sorry. If I had known that this would happen I-"

"What, Doug? What would you have done differently? Let me live with it?" She asked, looking at him particularly.

"No. I would've… I don't know. But I would've done something." He defended, meeting her stare.

"I know you would have. You would have told me to tell someone anyway, right? There was no way around it, Dougie. It's really not your fault. Honestly, I'm angrier with my school for being so stupid. Seriously? Why the hell wouldn't they just switch our schedules?" She asked, sounding very much like the Riha he knew from the letters.

Dougie had to force himself not to smile widely as she let herself slip. _This _was the Riha he knew. The spastic, fast, funny girl sitting in front of him who didn't care what words came out of her mouth. She was definitely real.

"What? Why are you smiling?" She asked, smiling just a bit herself.

"I don't know… Because you're here I guess." He shrugged his shoulders, unable to filter his words before they left his mouth. "I would prefer different circumstances, but it's nice all the same." He told her honestly.

She seemed speechless for a moment, and Dougie watched as a small, shy blush ran up her cheeks. All he'd done was tell her what he was thinking. Was it really that easy to please girls?

"I'm glad you let me come here." She replied, smiling.

"Me casa es su casa, meine feundin." Dougie smiled a huge cheesy smile.

"Did you just poorly mix Spanish and German?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Possibly."

"Danke, mi amigo."

"Crap… what's 'you're welcome' in German? Or Spanish?" Dougie asked, stumped.

"You really didn't excel in languages, did you?" Laughed Riha as she stretched her legs out, reaching up to Dougie's hip. He laughed and stretched his out as well, taking up the inside. It was really warm and comfortable to be sitting hip-to-hip, ankle-to-ankle.

"So maybe I failed those classes a few times? So what?"

"German is Bitte, and Spanish is De nada." Riha informed him, rolling her eyes.

"This is why you're the smart one."

They prattled on for a while longer, talking about very random subjects to keep their mind occupied on anything besides the danger that Riha had previously been in. It was as though they subconsciously had the exact same goal.

"Dude, is that… Bayside?" Riha asked, her eyes opening wide as she noticed the C.D. on Dougie's coffee table. Dougie's eyes flashed to where she was looking and he recognized the familiar album artwork of the C.D. he bought a few days prior.

"Oh, yeah. I remembered that you said they were good when I was picking up a Blink album a few days ago." He replied, leaning over her ankles to grab the plastic from the table. "Though I confess, I haven't listened to it yet." It was obvious, though. The plastic wrap still lay in place around the C.D.

"_Shudder_ is their newest album. It's good, though I totally prefer their self-titled _Bayside _C.D. It was… three albums back now." She spoke intelligently, surprising Dougie.

"How long have you been into these guys?" Dougie fought with the plastic, trying to bite it off.

"Since my mom died. They were my support beam, you know?" She asked casually as she gingerly picked the C.D. case out from Dougie's hands and gently pulled the plastic back. "Doug, don't fight the wrap. Just… _be_ the wrap." She laughed as it easily slipped away from the case.

"Are you kidding me? How the hell did you do that?" He asked, amazed. The plastic had always been his downfall.

"It's a secret." She rolled her eyes as she pulled the disc out of the case. "You have a player?" Her eyes scanned the room again.

He took the C.D. from her hands and placed it in the conveniently located stereo that lay just behind his head on the side table. How lucky had that arranging choice been?

_He can't make sense of this._

_He's just too normal – _

_This place is too scary._

_He's so scared that he'll miss –_

_It keeps him in hiding,_

_And restless and wanting._

"Their lyrics are…" Dougie trailed off, not quite sure how to finish.

"Kind of freaky, right? You're not sure if you should like them or not." Riha stated, looking serious.

"Yeah." He agreed, nodding his head.

"Just listen…"

_Now is your chance, Boy. Just ignore_

_The dreadful things they say._

_"Go on, give up, you'll never win."_

_No crying now, they're watching him._

_His blood will boil and the kids will sing_

_"Learn to drown before you learn to swim."_

"Okay?" Dougie asked, looking at her for clarification.

"This song, Boy, is about an ordinary kid. Just you're average every-day youngster who wants to actually _be_ something. He wants to grow up and do something brilliant, but the world around him scares him, you know? He's scared that he'll fail because of what everyone tells him." She explains carefully, looking at Dougie from underneath her lashes as she listened to the song while interpreting for Dougie.

"How on earth…" Dougie listened a bit more, hearing the lyrics better. "Oh, I get it…" He trailed off, still listening.

They listened to the C.D. for a while longer and Dougie waited for Riha to explain her interpretations of each song. She would sometimes go rather deep, causing Dougie to pause the C.D. before she over lapped into the next one.

"I can see how you totally love them." Dougie laughed as the C.D. ended. "I quite liked that last one. A nice acoustic taste to the rest of the album." He inwardly laughed at his critic-sounding voice.

"I like it too. They put out an entire acoustic album when their original drummer died. It was a car accident." She shrugged her shoulders before tapping the case that was still in her hands. "Their new drummers still pretty good, though."

Dougie watched her for a moment as she read through the booklet and looked over the artwork.

"Are those peppermint patties?" Riha randomly asked a few moments later. Dougie snapped out of his awkward staring and glanced towards the table where she was pointing.

"Yeah, though I've got to warn you that they've been there for a very long time. I think all they way back to Valentines Day." He laughed as she reached forward and plucked one of the shiny wrappers out from the little bowl.

"We'll split it then. That way if you get food poisoning again, you wont be alone." She laughed as she ripped the paper open.

"But I didn't want to eat it!" Dougie argued, leaning forward for his half anyway.

"Well, you'll be there to walk me through the event then… Oh God Dougie, are these shaped like hearts?" She asked, laughing loudly as she held the little chocolate in her hand.

"I do believe that it is a heart." Dougie chuckled as well, trying to remember how he'd come across them in the first place. "I think a fan gave them to me. Harry helped me clean up my place one day and I'm pretty sure he set them out." Dougie explained as she broke the heart in half and gave him his.

"Dougie… they have pink mint in the middle." She held up her half to show him. He looked closer at his own. There was indeed pink mint.

"They never do things half-way, do they?" He laughed as he popped his in between his teeth. "Hey! They don't even taste bad!" How lucky was that?

They greedily ate the rest of the mints, splitting them in half each time to see the pink insides.

"Maybe it's not really pink. Maybe we just _think _it is because they're hearts. I mean, that could easily be white." Riha pointed out from her position resting in Dougie's arms. How they had ended up like that, Dougie wasn't quite sure. All he knew was that at one moment, Riha was across the couch and at the next, he had his arm around her shoulders and she was leaning comfortably into his chest.

"That's definitely pink, dude." He replied for the third time as she popped the chocolate into his mouth by throwing it into the air. He'd caught some of the other ones but her unlucky shot had it end up hitting his forehead. "Um, ow?" He laughed as it slid down his face. He gingerly picked it up and placed it on his tongue normally.

"My bad…" She laughed, opening another chocolate for herself.

Dougie watched her for the thousandth time that evening. Her delicate hands unfolded the paper gently before she gingerly picked the chocolate up between her fingers just to place the candy between her little lips. It wasn't supposed to be such an entertaining movement, but Dougie found himself completely enthralled.

How had that happened? This was the first time they'd actually _talked _to each other, yet they were acting like they'd been best friends their entire lives. Everything just felt comfortable and unforced. He'd never experienced anything like it before.

"It's your birthday next week." He stated randomly, remembering the line from her letter.

"Yes it is."

"You're going to be nineteen?" He checked, just for conversational purposes.

"Correct again."

"What should I get you?" He wasn't really speaking for her to answer him, but more or less to focus his mind on something besides the way her lips moved when she chewed.

"You don't have to get my anything. You're letting my sister and I crash here without any notice ahead of time. That's a life time of birthday _and _Christmas presents right there." She pointed out.

"Wait!" Dougie suddenly stated, sitting her up so that he could look at her face clearly. She looked very confused, unsure of why he'd suddenly reacted that way.

"What? Doug, seriously you really don't have to get me a present-" Dougie cut her off from her little fight as he was on a completely different level of thinking.

"What is seen by almost everyone without anyone noticing, for what is beyond is what he or she seeks?" Dougie asked, his eyes wide.

"Huh?" It was clearly obvious that he'd left Riha's thoughts way behind.

"The riddle! That riddle you gave me to _entertain _me? Doesn't entertain me in the slightest. I guessed _pubic hair_. How horrible is that?" Dougie stated, shaking his head.

"You guess _what_? Dougie, that's the worst answer I've ever heard!" She laughed, rolling her head back onto his shoulder.

"Hardy har-har. What's the answer?" He asked, looking expectant.

"It's a window, Doug. Just a window." She stated, sighing. "My sister's class of eight-year olds was asked that question. Obviously it's not pubic hair." Her eyes rolled enough for him to notice from his side-ways view.

"Oh be quiet. I be you didn't get it your first time either." He rolled his eyes back at her, hoping she noticed.

"I actually did, thank you very much." She turned her head to look at him directly before she very noticeably rolled her eyes right back.

"I bet if I go ask her she'll tell me the truth!"

"No… she's… playing a game! Don't interrupt-"

"She's actually sleeping. I just came out to tell you, Doug." Dougie looked up as he stopped tickling Riha to see Danny standing there, a wide smirk on his face.

"Oh… um… thanks, Dan. This is Riha, by the way."

"I know. You already introduced us." Danny stated, clearly thinking that he wasn't the dumbest one out of the bunch.

"Oh yeah. Right…"

"So… I'll let you two be, then. I think I'm going to head home. Long day today… I'll call you tomorrow, Doug!" Danny laughed as he strutted out of the house, smiling coyly at his friend as he exited the room.

"Well…" Dougie mumbled, as Riha relaxed against him again.

"That embarrassed you." She teased just a bit, rolling her eyes at him again.

"You bet it did. He'll never stop now…"

Riha chuckled for a moment before she went quiet. Dougie was about to speak before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He withdrew it fluidly, not even jostling the girl in his arms. Needless to say, he was a bit proud.

**Txt From: Danny Cell**

_**You have SERIOUS explaining do to! I won't stop until you give me the scoop, man. Talk to ya tomorrow. Peace.**_

Dougie squinched his face up as he read the text, realizing that his moment had finally come to meet him. The guys would all know his deep dark secret in a matter of seconds, seeing as Danny had the biggest mouth. There was nothing he could do except face the facts: his secret wasn't his anymore.

"Hey Doug?" Riha asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah?" He asked as he plucked a peppermint patty wrapper off of his shirt and dropped it onto the coffee table while slipping his phone back into his pocket in same movement. His clumsy side must've decided to give him a night off.

"Do you want me to go get Ali out of your bed? I mean, we've practically waltzed right into your house and taken over-"

"Leave her, really. I have a big bed so you can go sleep in there with her, if you want to. I'll take the couch." He stated, patting the sofa fondly.

"Are you sure? I feel bad that we've come in acting like we own the place."

"Do I need to repeat my poor Spanish self? Me casa es su casa. My home is your home. Seriously, you guys have had a rough weekend. You can have anything you need." He offered as they both stood up from their embrace on the couch. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he missed the warmth.

"Then would it be too much to ask for some P.J.s, maybe? Even just for Ali. She's been in those clothes all weekend and I hate to think about what kind of dirt is getting in your bed." Riha bit her lip as they quietly walked into Dougie's room.

"No problem." Dougie whispered back as he pulled a pair of clean boxers out of his drawers for Ali and a nice big McFly t-shirt. She'd like that, right?

He handed them to Riha along with a second set of plain boxers and a shirt for herself, and he exited the room so she could change. He cleaned up the wrappers and set up an extra blanket and pillow on his couch, having done the procedure many times for his drunken friends. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his bedroom door was closed before he pulled his shirt up over his head and took his socks and shoes off.

"How come you're so good with kids?" He heard Riha approach from behind him and he jumped up, surprised. He had to glance away quickly so as not to stare at her outfit. Honestly, it was nearly the hottest thing for him to see a girl dressed in his nightclothes.

"Um… well, I mean… a lot of our fans are younger. At first I didn't really know how to talk to them but after awhile I just picked it up. They're kind of cool." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Danny's usually the best though. He's like a big kid himself."

"Yeah, I noticed." She smiled a little bit before glancing at his bed. "I just wanted to say thanks again before I went to bed. It's been… great, Doug. You've been great." She finished, her eyes moving from him a few times during her monologue.

Dougie felt his shoulders relax as she spoke and he some how no longer felt awkward. This was Riha. He knew her. She knew him. It was _Riha_.

"You're welcome here, Riha. All the time – any time, you're welcome." He replied, shrugging his shoulders again as he moved forward to hug her. Riha seemed a bit taken aback by his forwardness, but hugged him back anyway.

Neither of them let go after a moment, and Dougie had to nearly yell at himself internally for his testosterone induced thoughts. Riha had had a very bad weekend. It would be ungentlemanly for him to take advantage of her in anyway. Even if it was just an innocent-

Before he could convince himself otherwise, Dougie bent down and pulled her into a gentle kiss.

He heard her gasp for a second and he knew that he'd moved too fast. What was he doing, listening to his instincts? They were _always _wrong! He should've just stopped at the hug and said goodnight like she wanted but-

Dougie halted his thoughts as she kissed him back. Was she just acting on impulse? Cause she was feeling vulnerable and stuff? Wasn't that how girls felt after they had shitty boyfriends? He couldn't just deny her the kiss… he wanted it too. But would she be angry in the morning?

"Stop thinking, Dougie." She mumbled after a few minutes of his internal debate.

Happily, Dougie complied.


	15. Chapter 15

**WOHOO! Gosh this chapter was intense! It's long again. =]**

**So this is the end, everyone. =[**

**Is it kind of weird that it ended awesomely on my BIRTHDAY??? WOHOO! **

**SWEET 16! =]**

**Sorry I haven't responded to your reviews. I WILL DO IT! I PROMISE!!! Just… not right now. =]]]]]**

**LOVE**

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Was there some internal radar hidden in everyone's brain where they can suddenly sense if they're being watched? You can feel it when the hairs on the back of your neck and arms stand up; it's like you're body is watching for you just so you're eyes don't have to. It's the freakiest thing.

Dougie had that odd sensation of being watched as he tried to sleep soundly on his couch. How many nights had he pulled knocked out on his sofa before? Never once had he had a problem.

He glanced over at his bedroom door, behind which lay Riha and Alicia hopefully sound asleep. It was tightly sealed though Dougie felt as though if he took the slightest breath too loudly, he'd wake them up in a second.

Trailing his eyes around the room, he ended up staring out the large window opposite his couch. Who was in charge of arranging his furniture? Certainly he didn't ask for his sofa to be placed so disturbingly. Outside the window he could only make out the faint orange light of the street lamp and the cryptic glow it gave out. How useful were streetlights anyway? He could only see about five feet around the thing, giving him no actual information about the outside world at all… apart from the fact that it was still raining.

Dougie slowly pulled the blanket off of his body and quietly swept his feet onto the floor. He tried to be as quiet as possible, afraid of waking his houseguests up. He'd forgotten what it was like to share a house with someone. They only people who'd ever stayed at his place were his band mates, and they could sleep through a bombing. His mother and sister had come when he'd first moved in to help him decorate, but he'd spent the first fifteen years of his life with them. It was natural for him to know how to not wake them.

With footsteps quieter then he'd ever made them before, Dougie made his way to his kitchen for a bottle of water. How had he never noticed just how much noise the refrigerator made when opening? It was like a monster coming to life!

He waited a few seconds before continuing his silent journey back to his temporary bed. The trail was so much harder to follow in the dark, seeing as he thought the lights would stir his guests awake. He'd never been so careful as he'd walked before.

Just as Dougie was about to lie back down on the couch to welcome sleep, he felt the odd feeling of being stared at again. On instinct, he checked the door to his bedroom just to see it still shut tightly.

His eyes darted to the window just in time to notice a being standing just on the edge of the lamp light. His heart rate seemed to double in time as he stared back at what he assumed to be a man. The body just stood in the street, facing towards his house.

Glancing at the table next to him, Dougie carefully reached for his mobile and hid it under his blankets. On the screen, he dialed the emergency number but hesitated on hitting send. He decided to wait and watch the figure in the street to actually act before he made the call.

Where had the man gone?

Dougie focused his eyes stronger on the road, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark outside. Was he actually courageous enough to open his front door and check who was out there? He doubted himself, already knowing the truth. He could call his mates over, though would he risk them alone outside with the unknown person?

Again, he already knew the answer.

Dougie waited a few minutes longer before letting out a deep breath that he didn't even know he was holding in. It was nearly two in the morning; he must've just been seeing things from lack of sleep.

**Knock-Knock**

Dougie's head whipped around to his front door at the abnormally loud sound of the knocker. In his mind he thought of a thousand different alternatives then answering his door, but his thoughts were overpowered when the knock rang through his house again. He jumped off the couch, running to his door in hopes that Riha and Alicia had slept through it. If they woke up, it would just make things worse.

Dougie thought before he opened the door and paused long enough to check the peephole. On the other side stood a familiar looking boy wearing a bright yellow reflective vest with a dirty gray sweatshirt underneath. How did Dougie know this boy? He couldn't have been anything older then seventeen, yet the bassist clearly remembered his face from somewhere.

He pulled the door back slowly, hoping that his acting skills had improved as he feigned tiredness.

"Hello?" Dougie asked, hoping his voice sounded tired and sleepy. There was absolutely nothing weird going on inside his house. The boy had just woken him up from a great dream. Why was he here so late at night? Who has two kidnapped girls in his house? Certainly not Dougie. He'd been in his house playing with his lizards all night long.

"Hello sir, sorry if I've disturbed you. I'm part of a search party. You see, one of my classmates has gone missing with her little sister. I was wondering if maybe you've seen her around?" The boy held up a large picture of Riha and Alicia. It looked like it had come straight from a professional photographer. It was printed out on strong photo paper and the two girls were sitting together, laughing at something one of them had said. Riha holding Alicia in her lap with her hands wrapped securely around her little sister's waist. It looked like it might've been about a year old sense both of their hair was shorter and Ali seemed much shorter then Dougie remembered.

"No… I haven't seen them." Dougie spoke, unsure about what kind of answer he was supposed to give. Riha had seemed pretty sure of herself when they'd spoke, and she seemed to know what she was doing. If she had wanted other people to get involved it would've been easy. It wasn't Dougie's place to give her away.

"At all, sir?" The boy asked again, looking confused.

"Never in my life. I don't know who they are." Dougie spoke clearer, hoping to not give anything away. The boys face suddenly grew surprised Dougie to suddenly remember where he'd recognized him. "I know you!" He spoke almost too loudly and he worked to modulate the sound of his voice. "You were smoking at the Secondary School over on South Main. I was there to drop off a letter!" Dougie stated, though he suddenly regretted his statement.

He'd been dropping off a letter to _Riha. _

"I know." The boy stated, looking very serious.

"Well, um… it was for… a teacher. He um… We had a negotiation for something… I was just… dropping it off…" Dougie trailed off, disgusted with his lying skills. No one would believe him.

"Sir, I saw the letter you dropped off. It had Riha's name on it." The boy angrily glared straight into Dougie's eyes. They were probably about the same body size, and Dougie figured that if it came down to it, he could take the kid. The boy was lanky and skinny – Dougie at least had some muscle.

"I'm Riha's pen pal for her class. What does that have to do with anything?" Dougie asked, trying to play the innocent act.

"This is Riha." The kid stated, pointing to her picture.

"Oh… is it _really_?" Was his act getting him anywhere?

"Yes." The impatient look on the kids face wasn't hard to miss. He seemed to be growing more and more agitated by the second. Maybe Dougie was doing something right after all. He just had to annoy the kid enough to get him to leave.

"Do you know if she's okay? How long has she been missing?" Dougie asked, looking worried.

"Since Friday. We have no leads as to her stability."

"That's horrible. Just… horrible. Do you have any idea who could've done this?" Dougie asked, looking the kid straight in the eyes.

"No leads." His reply was short, causing Dougie to narrow his eyes.

There was something very, very off.

"Really? No one in school has made any harmful acts towards her? An ex-boyfriend or something?" The kid had to know Dougie was lying. He literally screamed it.

"No, actually. Riha doesn't have many friends but her boyfriend loved her dearly. He wouldn't harm a hair on her head."

Something was definitely up.

"That's good to know, kid. Hey, what's your name by the way? Just in case I see her around or hear from her?" Dougie asked as panic suddenly erupted inside him. Behind the doorframe in his house, Dougie could hear someone moving around. Someone was awake.

He slyly tried to close the door a bit, just so that it was only his body in view. He wouldn't risk Riha being seen.

"My name is Aaron. Aaron Frasher." He stated, squinting his eyes at Dougie warily.

"It's nice to meet you, Aaron." Dougie's insides were flipping upside down as he spoke. Aaron was at his house. "Let me ask you something, Aaron. Is your entire class out right now, looking for her? Or a select group of people? That's quite the picture of her, by the way. Looks like it came straight from her house." Dougie curiously eyed the boy's reflective jacket while he internally yelled at himself. Who was subtle? NOT DOUGIE!

"The police contacted me. Her father called her and her sister in missing. He had pictures for everyone to show around." Dougie heard the sound of a rehearsed lie coming from the boy in front of him.

"How did you think to come here? This is nearly a twenty minute drive from the school." Dougie stated, hoping to get a little more information before he sent the psycho on his way and called the police.

"It was on the envelope you left for Riha." Aaron stated calmly, looking Dougie up and down with squinted eyes. The boy suddenly looked very suspicious.

"Oh, well. Thank you, Aaron for letting me know the situation. If I hear anything I'll definitely contact you." Dougie said quickly as he heard more moving around behind him. Someone was leaving his bedroom.

"But-" Aaron started again before Dougie slammed the door in his face. The boy started yelling loudly from outside as Dougie spun around and ran into his living room. Riha stood there with a curious look on her face, eyeing Dougie suspiciously.

"Was there someone at the door?" She asked, glancing past him to the hallway.

"Yeah. You're freaky stalker. He's saying something about a bogus search party. Says your dad called you in missing." Dougie stated quietly, noticing his bedroom door open. He didn't want to wake Alicia up with their talking so he quietly shut the door before turning around to speak with Riha.

"Why did he come here?" She asked, looking alarmed. "He has no idea that I talk to you… or where you live… or-"

"Last time I dropped off a letter he was outside the school smoking. He saw me leave your letter in the mailbox." Dougie stated as he began to pace back and forth. "I really think that maybe we should call the police now. We know exactly where he is and I'm pretty sure he knows you're in here. I'm a horrible liar, Riha. Seriously, I'm surprised he didn't just barge in here and-" Dougie stopped talking as realization suddenly hit him.

Riha looked around wildly, completely confused as he blitzed into his bedroom, flipping the light on. His breath left him in a sudden gasp as he noticed his window wide open and the same boy who was on his doorstep a minute ago holding a large kitchen knife to Riha's little sister.

Alicia's eyes were wide with shock as she recovered from sleep. She gazed quickly shot back and forth from Aaron, standing over her sadistically, to Dougie and Riha, standing in the doorway terrified.

"Aaron… please…" Dougie heard Riha beg from behind him. She sounded so weak and terrified. It nearly broke his heart as the words left her lips. This kid was insane.

"Please what, Riha? Don't hurt your precious sister?" He whispered back, his eyes wide and terrifying. A moment later Alicia gave away in his arms, fainting quietly into his chest.

"Please!" Riha said just a bit louder as her sister's eyes closed. The knife was nearly a centimeter from her skin, causing Dougie to grow anxious and skittish. He wanted punch the asshole in the face while grabbing the knife and throwing it out the window and then carry Alicia over his shoulder and out of the room. He didn't know what to do first.

"You told me that they weren't here." Aaron's eyes suddenly flashed to Dougie, glaring at him angrily. "You said you didn't know them. How do you explain the kid in your bed?" Dougie didn't know how to speak and even if he did, he wouldn't know what to say. How does one calm down an insane man from hurting an innocent child?

"I… I know I lied…" Dougie stated, taking a small step forward towards Aaron and Alicia. He stopped suddenly as Aaron's eyes lit up and he held the knife tighter in his hands.

Alicia was slipping slowly from Aaron's one-armed hold on her and down his abdomen. It would only be a matter of time before Aaron needed to adjust his hold… if Dougie could just stall him...

"I lied because… because how could I just give them to you without you earning it first? What kind of game would that be?" Dougie asked, realizing just how insane his words sounded.

Dougie remembered when he was seven years old; he went to school with a young boy who killed birds for fun. He'd told Dougie about how he made his own sling-shot and then every after noon he'd go out to his back yard and try to hit more birds then from the day before. When he'd find the birds, he'd separately take them to the side and invent different ways to torture them to death. Dougie knew what the kid was doing was wrong, but whenever he'd tell his teacher she wouldn't believe him. One day, Dougie decided that the only way for the kid to get in trouble would be if he told the teacher himself.

Dougie didn't know how to make the kid turn himself in. He wasn't sure what gave him the idea, but he decided that the kid would listen better if Dougie sounded crazy too. Insane responded well to other insane things.

_"Hey, John. Ms. Marshall told me that she killed more birds then you did." Dougie whispered to his science partner. _

_"Ms. Marshall doesn't kill birds. See the drawings on her board? Those are alive birds, Doug."_

_"It's just a cover up. She told me. Really. She said 'Dougie, don't tell John this but every day I go home, I kill ten more birds then he does.' She said that, really."_

_"Nuh uh."_

_"Yeah huh! Go tell her you kill more birds. Set her straight." _

_"I will!"_

Dougie never saw John again after that.

"Game? You think that this is a game?" Aaron asked, looking at Dougie with surprise evident on his face.

"Not a game, per say… but… what would be the point if you weren't going to have some fun? You wouldn't have started this if you didn't enjoy it." Dougie stated obviously, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

"But…"

"I just tried to make it a bit more entertaining, Aaron." Dougie lied, glancing over his should to Riha. Her eyes were wide with confusion, staring at Dougie as though she didn't know him. He did sound quite insane, didn't he? Maybe his acting skills weren't _all _bad.

"I have to say, I'll give you credit for checking my return address on the letter. That was pretty smart, Aaron. _I_ definitely wouldn't have thought of it, believe me." Compliment him. Tell him that he's doing a good job. Wait for it… and wait for it…

"It was pretty smart, wasn't it? It would've been a lot harder finding her if I hadn't done that." Aaron sounded proud as Alicia slipped further from his arm.

"Really smart. It was also smart to check these windows. I completely forgot I left them unlocked-" Dougie sprang forward as Alicia slipped just out of Aaron's arms. He heard the boy yell angrily as he pulled the little girl away, throwing her from Aaron and towards Riha.

A second later he felt a hot slash through his forehead as what he assumed to be the knife slipped from Aaron's hands. Dougie charged forward anyway, pinning his attacker to the ground underneath him. He sat forcefully on top of Aaron's chest and punched him hard in the face.

Everything happened so fast Dougie was unable to see clearly for a moment. Aaron was wailing on the ground beneath him, holding his nose in his hands while blood flowed on his face. Dougie felt a warm liquid dripping slowly down his own face as well, but he was too busy holding Aaron down to notice. Riha was yelling something at him that he couldn't quite register for his ears were ringing loudly.

No… those were sirens.

Police sirens?

Dougie noticed that his vision suddenly pulsed with flashing blue and red lights. He glanced to see out the open window where police cars and ambulances had pulled up. When had they arrived?

"No body move!" He heard a forceful voice say from behind him. Dougie flew off of Aaron in a second, moving to lean against his bed from the floor. He sat cross-legged as three police officers barged in and took in the scene. After a few moments of them shouting, they pulled Aaron up off of the floor and handcuffed him before dragging him out of the house.

"Wha-?" Dougie asked aloud, very confused.

"I used your phone… 999 was already on the screen." Riha mumbled from the doorway as she guiltily held up Dougie's mobile. She made her way gingerly across the room to where he was sitting on the floor. Sliding down the side of the bed, Riha sat next to him and placed the phone in Dougie's lap.

"Thank you." She whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.

A few hours later, Dougie sat comfortably on a familiar hospital bed. His head was wrapped tightly in hospital gauze and his fingers were in splints. Apparently he'd broken a few knuckles when he'd punched Aaron…The police men in front of him were packing up their things, ready to leave. He and Riha had just recounted all of the events of their weekend to them. Aaron was in holding awaiting trial, though the police had assured Riha that he would most likely be found guilty.

"Remember when we filmed the video for 'Please, Please'?" Danny asked loudly as he and the rest of the band walked into the room while the detectives exited behind them. "You look hotter now, Doug." He finished, smiling widely.

He was only saying that because Riha was sat on the best next to him.

"Shut it, Dan." Dougie smiled back, rolling his eyes.

As Dougie's three best friends entered the room, they all eyed Riha and Alicia curiously. The bassist knew that he had some serious explaining to do, though he didn't really want to talk about it with Riha there.

"We're going to head over to the gift shop for a moment. Ali saw a lizard stuffed animal there that's just calling her name." Riha excused herself as though she could read his mind. Dougie sighed happily as he watched her leave before he glanced over at his friend who were waiting expectantly.

"So?" Harry asked, looking very confused.

"Guy's…" He began, smiling wider then he had in a very long time. "I have a pen pal."


	16. Chapter 16

Hey Bad Days lovers. I thought that I needed to tie this off with a nice epilogue. I know I set it as Complete but who give a shit, right? I want to say goodbye to Dougie and Riha properly. So suck it, Fanfiction.

**Anyway, sorry this took some time to come out. I've been writing another story Plan: B. I quite like it, so maybe you will too! Check it out if you want to lol. **

***************

Dougie glanced up from his lap at the traffic light in front of him, the same red glow staring back down at him. He sighed in frustration as he sat at the longest red light in all of Britain. The young bassist wasn't sure if he could risk reaching down into his lap to open one of the fan letters addressed to him in order to pass the time. The light could turn green while he was distracted.

He took his eyes off of the light for a brief moment to check the time. He was already ten minutes late! She would never forgive him.

Dougie glanced up from his dashboard as the sound of car horns glared from behind him. The faint green glow of the traffic light flooded his car and he angrily pressed down on the gas pedal. He didn't have far to go after the traffic light. Just a few more blocks until he reached his destination.

He pulled his car up to the curb once he reached a familiar small stucco house. Elegant soft light emanated from the large from window, spreading across the dry lawn. In the setting sun, it actually seemed quite peaceful and inviting. Dougie sighed happily as he stepped out of his car, grabbing the small white plastic bag from his passenger seat. His shoes scuffed quietly up the familiar brick path to the old front door.

Respectfully, he knocked twice and waited in silence. A small part in the back of his head missed the warmth of his car just before the door in front of him swung open to reveal one of his favorite women in the world.

"Dougie!" The girl squeaked, jumping into his arms rather unexpectedly. He had to reposition the bag in order to catch her properly.

"Hey Miss. Ali! Have a good day in school?" He asked, setting her back onto the stone stoop before she led him into the warm house.

"It was so good! In science we learnt all about frogs and how they breathe through their skin! All the other girls thought it was gross but I thought it was cool. Did you know that about frogs, Dougie?" The little girl rambled on, leading him by the hand into the den. Dougie chuckled quietly to himself as she ranted, while subtly glancing around the room for another body.

"I did know that. Did you know that there's a kind of frog that sweats this kind of poison? Some people use it to coat their weapons when they go hunting because it paralyzes animals." With any other eight year-old, Dougie would never mention anything so graphic but little Alicia was different. She practically lived for learning new things. It was quite extraordinary.

"Really! Our teacher never mentioned that!"

"Yeah. The frogs are called Poison Dart Frogs. Ask your teacher about them." He added the second thought for his own humor. Oh did he wish to see that teacher face when Alicia voiced her question.

"Dougie, are you trying to get my sister in trouble?" A wide smile broke out across Dougie's face as he spun around and faced one of his other favorite girls. Riha Anderson, his girlfriend of just over a year, stood at the bottom of the house's steps, glaring at him playfully.

"Me? Never." He swiftly walked across the room to embrace her, pushing her long raven hair over her shoulder in order to place his hand on her neck.

Riha was absolutely one of the best things in Dougie's young life. She wasn't an average girl at the very least. It was as though they just _got _one another. He'd never experienced anything like it before.

"Really?" She laughed, pulling away after a moment.

"Ew." Dougie chuckled and turned around to face Alicia who had quite a disgusted face pulled.

"What?" Riha teased her sister, running over and kissing her cheeks. Ali let out a screech full of giggles as her older sister attacked her, trying to push her away with her own little hands.

"Ah! Riha, stop!" She pleaded, laughing hysterically.

"Riha, if you kill her I'll never be able to give Ali my present." Dougie sighed, pulling one of the items inside the plastic bag out. Alicia suddenly stopped laughing as easily pulled herself free of her sister. She swiftly moved across the room to Dougie, an angelic smile plastered upon her little face.

"You got me a present!" She was too cute for her own good.

"Yes I did." Dougie smiled, pulling the small box from behind his back and handing it to the girl.

"Wall-E!" She yelled happily, ripping the plastic off of the D.V.D. just as fluidly as her sister could. Dougie hated the plastic part.

Alicia ran over to the small TV in the den and popped the CD into the player. With extreme skill, she fast forwarded through the previews and hit the play button as soon as the menu appeared on the screen.

"You're going to steal my sister from me." Riha whispered in Dougie's ear as the lights dimmed and Alicia situated herself happily on the small chair nearest the television. Dougie felt goose bumps travel down his spine as his girlfriend laughed beside him, biting her lip in the way she knew Dougie couldn't resist.

The two sat on the couch in the back of the room, content with spending time with one another while the little girl watched the movie. To be honest, the couple paid little to no attention as to what was playing on the screen. Dougie held Riha's hand in his as she lay happily across his lap, her dark hair cascading in a halo around her face.

As the movie wore on, Dougie watched his girlfriend in some kind of awe. Her eyes were shut as she rested, tired from her schooling and job. Dougie felt his heart jump a little as he thought for the millionth time just how close he'd come to loosing her… to loosing part of the new life she'd given him. She'd nearly been ripped away from him once, and he vowed to himself it would never happen again. Ever.

"I have a present for you, too." Dougie whispered halfway through the movie to the girl in his lap. Alicia had curled herself into a ball on the chair and fallen asleep a few moments prior, snoring quietly to herself. It was nearly as cute as baby puppies and kittens.

"You do?" Riha mumbled, opening her eyes slightly.

"Of course." Dougie chuckled. "It's your birthday."

"Oh, right. I'd forgotten." She replied sarcastically, sitting up and standing on two feet. She took Dougie's hand and pulled him off the sofa before moving across the room and lifting her small sister. Dougie moved to take the sleeping girl from Riha's arms, but she shook her head and motioned up the stairs.

Dougie led the way to the little girls bedroom, opening the door and pulling back the sheets. Riha slid Alicia into bed and took off her shoes, pulling the blankets across her body and leading the way out. Dougie flicked the light off, closing the door quietly behind him.

Riha led the way across the hall into her own bedroom. Dougie remembered the first time he stepped foot into the room, completely overwhelmed with just how… _Riha _it was.

Three of the walls were painted a light blue color, matching nicely with her black bedspread and curtains. The forth wall was a pale white, almost yellow, and was easily the largest of all the walls. In a dark black paint, the wall was covered in a beautiful design of swirls and curls. The first time Dougie saw it all he could do was stare. He had no idea she was so artistic.

She claimed that it was a unique time. It was the only thing she'd ever painted that actually turned out fairly decent. Dougie believed she was just being modest, but after awhile he noticed that her wall was the only artistic thing she did. It was a little piece of her, Riha said.

"I can see your floor." Dougie noted, smiling teasingly as he collapsed onto her twin sized bed with a deep sigh. She stuck her tongue out at him as she took a seat in the chair at her desk, papers strewn all over the place.

"Did I tell you I started a new story?" She asked, looking excited. Dougie sat up, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Can I read it?"

"Not till it's finished."

Dougie laughed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Riha had finally discovered what she wanted to do with her life, which was writing stories. She hadn't told Dougie of her discovery until her first one was complete. He could honestly admit that it was the first book he read front to back _for fun_.

"I still think you should go to writing school or something. You know I'd help pay for it." Dougie commented as he pulled the small white bag out one more time. Riha glared at him before turning down his offer. Again.

"I'll pay for it. Once I get Alicia out of the house. I can always take college courses when I'm older." She shrugged her shoulders, completely intent with her plan.

"Fine. But you know, if you change your mind-"

"What's in the bag, Doug?" Riha interrupted with a smile, moving off her chair to sit next to him comfortably on the bed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He teased, pulling a birthday bag out and handing it to her. She smiled and shook her head, moving the green tissue paper aside.

"Doug?" She questioned, pulling out one item. It was wrapped in newspaper.

"I ran out of the colorful paper." He explained, smiling in embarrassment.

"You know what? I like it better this way… except maybe you shouldn't have used the obituaries." She laughed, unrolling the object from the paper.

"I guess I should've checked, huh?" He laughed as well, taking the newspaper away once she unwrapped the first gift and crinkling it up.

In her hand she held a small charm bracelet. She looked up at him, confused. Charm bracelets weren't really her thing, but Dougie nodded and smiled, directing her attention back to the gift.

There were four charms connected to the chain. The first was a dark black eight note. The second was a picture of the Empire State Building, framed in metal so as not to break. The next two were pictures as well, framed the exact way. One was of the Statue of Liberty, and the other just reading New York in bright red letters.

"New York?" She asked, eyeing him strangely. "Doug, I've never been out of the country." She must've thought he was insane.

"I know. Keep going."

"Okay…" She sounded skeptical.

She reached into the bag and pulled out four white envelopes labeled in chronological order. Riha handled number one, flipping it over to open. She pulled out the hotel Hilton brochures, completely clueless as to why Dougie was giving her such useless things.

"Doug, why do I need a hotel brochure? I work to much to go anywhere." She stated, shaking her head and growing frustrated.

"Open the next one."

She wordlessly picked up envelope number two, slicing the paper open. Inside was a letter from her boss, letter her know that she had two weeks paid vacation starting whenever she wished. Riha furrowed her eyebrows, staring at the signature at the bottom.

"I never asked for vacation."

"And go on." Dougie urged growing excited himself.

Riha opened envelope number three, never taking her eyes off him as she did so. Dougie watched as the cogs in her head slowly clicked together. She was piecing together everything.

Riha glanced away from him finally in order to look down at the new papers in her hands, staring at the in utter disbelief. Dougie waited anxiously as she read them over not only once, but also twice… and three times.

"Dougie…" She voice seemed wary. "These… are airplane tickets." Her words came out breathlessly.

"That they are."

"To New York…"

"Open the last envelope." Dougie urged, nearly praying that she liked her present. What if she didn't want to go?

Riha wordlessly picked up the forth envelope, staring at it for a moment before peeling the paper back carefully. Dougie held his breath as she pulled the two rectangles from the pocket, staring at them with wide eyes.

Dougie waited for Riha to react. Her eyes held no emotion as they glazed over the papers, taking in every single word.

"So? Do you… do you like it?" Dougie asked nervously, pulling his legs up onto the bed and turning to face her. Riha's eyes slowly slid off of the tickets in her hands to meet Dougie's own wide eyes.

"These… are Bayside tickets."

"I know."

"How…" Her voice seemed completely gone.

"Riha, you're like… in love with them. And you mentioned wanting to go to New York, right? So this is like hitting two birds with one stone. You get to see your idols and visit a different country and everything." Dougie rambled, playing with his fingers.

"But… work… Alicia…" She wasn't using complete sentences. Dougie understood her anyway.

"Your boss seemed completely fine with letting you take two weeks off with full pay and everything. She seemed to think you needed it, too. And, I checked with your dad and everything before I bought the tickets. He just wants you to have a good time. Be a kid for once, you know?" Dougie sighed, biting his lip. Would she actually accept?

"You…" She trailed off, looking down at the tickets in her lap once again. Dougie felt himself tense up, waiting for her denial. She wouldn't go with him.

Suddenly, she looked away, whipping her eyes on the end of her shirt.

"You're crying!" Dougie gasped, completely shocked. Riha had _never _cried as long as he knew her. It was one of his favorite things about her, just how strong she was. He'd made her cry!

"No I'm not." She argued, sniffling slightly.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Riha. I can take them back if you don't want to go. I should've checked with you first or something… but I just wanted it to be a surprise and normally I can _never _keep secrets and I was so happy that I did this time… but I can bring everything back and-" As he rambled on, Riha turned to look at him. Her features were appalled, staring at him as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What? No, Doug. I… I love it." She laughed, her face still shocked.

"You do?" He stopped mid-sentence, completely confused.

"Dougie! Of course I do!" Riha laughed louder, setting the papers aside carefully before curling up comfortably underneath Dougie's arm. He held her closer, feeling some kind of euphoric numbness. So she _did _like it!

"I thought you were crying because you didn't like it…" Dougie chuckled, using his free hand to brush away any evidence of the tears.

"No… it's just…" Her gray eyes met his, holding his gaze carefully. "This is the nicest thing _anyone's _ever done for me, Doug." Riha sighed, tearing her eyes away and hiding her head in the crevice of his shoulder, her warm breath tickling his neck.

Dougie sat completely content. He and his girlfriend were going to New York for two weeks to see her all-time favorite band in the entire world. It wasn't really that hard to do, actually. He just called around a bit, making reservations and getting her off work. Could something so easy really mean so much to her?

"I'm glad you like it. You deserve it." He sighed after a while, stroking her back easily through her shirt. She sighed and moved even closer to him, her arms wrapped around his middle.

"When will we leave?" She asked, her head still held on his shoulder.

"In a few days, hopefully. The concert's next week." Dougie replied casually. There was a brief pause before Riha squeezed him extremely hard and squealed in excitement. She had very slow reactions, apparently.

They held their position for awhile, thinking about how they would spend their time in New York around the concert. They could go site seeing and do other tourist-like things… a small smile appeared on Dougie's face as he planned silently in his mind.

After a moment, Riha began laughing from her own silent position. The vibrations from her laughter tickled Dougie's neck and he pulled back, looking in her eyes curiously.

"What's so funny?" He asked, laughing slightly himself.

Her eyes shone with amusement as she leaned up and kissed he cheek happily before speaking.

"Dougie, are you expecting me to wear that bracelet the entire time we're in New York?"

"Shut up and appreciate the gift, Riha."


End file.
